Harry Potter's Discovery
by JohnDeath
Summary: It was a simple thing. A mere TV show. But it would change the life of one young boy.
1. Chapter 1

Well, this has been an idea floating in my head for a while, and I had decided to get back in the game with it, as it is one I have developed the most. I know this idea has been done, but trust me when I say it will be a bit different. More should follow soon. If anyone is interested in betaing this one, or knows a good beta to recommend, feel free to PM me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto.

**A ninja is born  
**

Harry was mesmerized at the sight before him. It was difficult to see the TV trough the small grate on the door to the cupboard under the stairs he was living in, but the sight before him made him forget the uncomfortable position he was in.

His cousin Dudley, who resembled a round ball more than the eight years old boy he was, had started to watch a new cartoon, something called Naruto.

For some reason, Harry could not get the new show out of his mind. He watched it as often as he could, trying to memorize as much as he could for as long the show was available, which went on for two more weeks before his cousin got bored with it and stopped watching.

Harry for the first time in his short life was seriously considering murdering his spoiled cousin for taking away the sole source of joy in the young boy's life.

Harry had lived with his relatives for seven years now, and all he knew was hate and scorn from them.

His aunt and uncle took no small pleasure in reminding the young boy how worthless he was, and how grateful he should be that they decided to take care of him instead of sending him to an orphanage.

Furthermore, since he was five, they had forced him to earn his keep by doing all sorts of chores around the house.

"Did you catch the new Naruto episode? That was some fight, huh?" Harry perked up at that. School was never a pleasant place for him, but hearing two boys speaking behind him about Naruto made it a lot more bearable.

"Yeah. I can't wait to see how it ends." The other boy sighed.

"You should go and buy the comic, then, Jerry. They're a lot further. You can get them at that comic store next block." The first boy grinned lightly.

"Thanks, Matt. I'll stop by there after school." Jerry replied.

'Comics? I can read about Naruto?' Harry's dull green eyes shone with joy for the first time in his life.

"Hi there. Can I help you?" Harry turned away from the shelf filled with comics to the shop attendant.

Gerald Stevens had spent fifteen years working in this store, and knew every type of customer that walked in at first glance, and he knew how to deal with them.

So, he was a bit surprised when he failed to sort the young boy before him.

His rather baggy and messy clothes, not to mention his chaotic black hair screamed troublemaker and Gerald had approached him to make sure the kid didn't steal anything, but when the boy turned his eyes to him, Gerald was surprised.

The boy's vibrant green eyes showed no trace of any ill will, only eagerness to read the many comics before him.

"Err, how much is that?" Harry timidly pointed at a fan book for the Naruto comic offering fans more details about the techniques shown in the comics and the show.

"That one is three pounds fifty." Gerald replied, watching as the boy's eyes fell.

"I only have two." Harry sighed and turned away, feeling his hopes crushed again.

"Wait. Tell you what. I have a defect copy of it in the back I was going to throw away later. The print is good, but the cover and binding are off." Harry perked up again at that. It was almost too good to be true.

Gerald smiled at the boy as he rushed away. Turned out he wasn't so bad after all.

Harry slowed down as he approached his home. He really disliked the house. It was too orderly, too neat. To Harry, it just felt fake and forced.

Grateful that his relatives were all busy watching TV, Harry slipped into the cupboard, knowing he wouldn't be bothered until dinner.

Once safe in his cupboard, Harry eagerly dived into the book getting lost until he heard his uncle's heavy form step onto the floor, which creaked loudly in protest.

Cooking was the one chore he enjoyed a little bit, since he discovered he had a real talent for it. He would have enjoyed it more if he was actually allowed to eat some of it.

After dinner, he returned to his book, finally reaching the part that dealt with how the techniques in the show were actually performed.

'Wouldn't it be nice to be able to do all those things?' Harry sighed wistfully.

Acting on a whim, he put his hands together in the basic hand form described in the book and concentrated, trying to pull at his inner energy, and force it to move trough his body.

Deep within his body, Harry's magic felt the pull. At first, the energy was confused, not expecting the method the boy was attempting. The confusion lasted only a moment, however. Magic served its wielders regardless of who they were and what they did. So, it would adapt and serve Harry as well.

Outside, Harry felt a bit silly, when suddenly; a rush of energy filled his body, making him feel more alive than ever before. Being held on the edge of starvation since he was one, had never felt energized before.

'I can use chakra?' Harry released the sign in surprise, letting the sensation dissipate slowly. Then, his face split into a huge grin.

'I need to learn genjutsu.' Harry took a moment to ponder his options, and came to a decision that could help him the most. Genjutsu, or illusions, could be used to trick and ensnare your opponents, making them see or feel things that weren't there.

In this case, his opponents were his relatives, and the goal was a better life for himself.

He turned to the genjutsu techniques, and found the perfect one almost immediately. The False Surroundings technique. With it, he could cloak an object or even an area with a false image. A skilled user could also fool the other senses of the victim.

However, a problem arose for Harry. Genjutsu required not only high chakra control, but were also highly dependant on the will and focus of the user.

To further complicate things, he had no way of knowing if he was doing it right or not.

"I'll have to train." Harry sighed as he realized that there were no shortcuts in life. For a child his age, it was a profound discovery.

"Man, when Kakashi said focusing chakra to your feet was hard, he wasn't kidding." Harry cursed as his attempt at tree walking was met with dismal failure.

His first attempt made a deep, foot shaped cracked into the tree, telling him he used way too much chakra. On his next try, his foot did nothing at all, telling him he used too little. So, for two hours now, he was trying to find the middle ground.

He left for home in a rotten mood. He had managed to get his foot to stick to the tree, but did not feel like he wanted to climb the tree yet. Even if he could use chakra, he knew he would break something if he fell from the tree.

To add to his chakra control training, he began doing basic workouts to improve his physical condition, but he hit a snag here. Without a proper diet, it wouldn't do much.

It took him two weeks before he felt his control over his chakra was good enough to try running up and down the tree. He was lucky he was small, since he could crawl under a large rose bush and into a part of the local park that people didn't frequent.

Even then, he made sure he wouldn't be seen. He felt elated as he stood horizontally and looked down at the ground.

In the last two weeks, he had also become aware of his limits. He discovered that while his chakra capacity was large, his body was too weak to handle the strain of prolonged use. That's why he was determined to learn genjutsu as quickly as possible. His relatives were stunting his progress.

First, he worked on the three basic academy techniques, the Henge, Bunshin and Kawarimi.

It turned out Kawarimi was the most difficult to learn. Henge was really simple, and it had helped him tremendously in improving his visualization skills, while Bunshin took only slightly longer, further helping him with his visualization, as well as offering an example of external chakra projection.

Kawarimi, however, was a deceptively simple technique. It was a near instantaneous replacement with an object in your vicinity, allowing you to avoid an otherwise unavoidable attack.

However, Harry discovered the intricacies of the technique the hard way, after he managed to break his nose twice by slamming into a tree. Having experience with such an injury after several encounters with his cousin's gang, he reset it quickly, and channeled some chakra into it, making it heal more quickly.

"Ninpou: False Surroundings." Harry held the hand sign as he watched the cat he had ensnared chase an illusionary mouse.

"Not bad for two weeks worth of hard work." Harry grinned. He had mastered his objective, and could cast it quickly, having worked on his seal forming sleep every time he could do so safely, and also maintain it without holding the final seal.

He also started working on more advanced and combat oriented genjutsu, and had started looking into some basic ninjutsu to add to his arsenal.

"Hurry it up, boy." Vernon Dursley bellowed at his nephew. The boy was on time, as usual, but it was important for the man to keep his freak nephew in line.

"Ninpou: False Surroundings." Harry whispered as he felt the genjutsu take place. He put the plates of food on the table and finally sat down himself.

Vernon and Dudley tore into their plates like pigs in a trough; a comparison Harry felt was insulting to pigs, while his aunt Petunia took a slower pace. What they didn't know was that while they saw Harry eat two pieces of dry toast and a glass of water, he was actually eating a rather generous and balanced breakfast.

'It worked.' Feeling sated for once in his life, Harry went to school in a good mood. Nothing could bring him down now.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, here's chapter 2, which will hopefully give a few people some hints where I'm going with this, but trust me when I say, I have more than one surprise planned for this. Anyway, this chapter is more of a foundation for future skills, so bare with me.

**Chapter 2**

Over a year had passed since that fateful day when Harry managed to use his newly trained genjutsu skills to improve his home life, and the results couldn't be more obvious.

His training regime and the good food helped him finally reach the height and size appropriate for his age, as well as allowing him to gain definition to his muscles.

Since he was still growing, he had spent some time to read just what he could and could not do. He didn't want to damage his body by training improperly.

The year had also brought with it a change in focus. Having mastered genjutsu to a satisfactory degree for now, he began working on ninjutsu.

His first goal was Kage Bunshin, a technique that created solid clones of the user, that were very versatile, especially for training and espionage, because anything the clone learned, the creator would learn as well once the clone dispersed.

This was Harry's first experience with a chakra intensive technique, since genjutsu relied more on the skill of the user instead of the amount of chakra put into them.

Kage Bunshin, on the other hand, only needed enough control to prevent the waste of chakra. Once he managed to produce a working clone, he focused all he could, producing twenty clones at once.

The strain however proved too much, as he was left on the ground, panting from the strain and his body burning from the huge amount of energy that passed trough it.

"Alright, you ten, go to the library and look for books on martial arts. You go to school, and the rest of you, spread around and look for a martial arts school." Harry ordered his clones. Using Henge to appear different, the clones quickly sped off.

Harry remained in the clearing, his body on autopilot as it worked on seal forming speed.

His mind, on the other hand was thinking rapidly.

'My chakra levels are large, but my body still isn't used to prolonged use of chakra.' Harry sighed. His body always seemed to be holding him back.

Well, he was nine, after all, and his body was barely starting to get used to the changes Harry had forced onto it.

'Perhaps if I start working on taijutsu it will help me. I'll need to figure out how to enhance my body with chakra.' A decision made, his mind began going trough other ninjutsu he wanted to try.

"Excuse me; I wanted to ask about your beginner classes." Harry walked in the nearest martial arts school his clones had found.

"Aren't you a little young to be here on your own?" The receptionist smiled gently at the young boy before her.

"It's no problem. I live right down the block, and my aunt knows where I am." Harry protested.

"Alright. Oh, David, mind coming over here for a moment?" The receptionist waved over to a man that had walked out from inside.

"Sure, Sarah." The man smiled and walked over.

Harry couldn't help but feel intimidated by the man. He seemed friendly and pleasant enough, but Harry could sense the skill and power this man possessed.

"This young man wants to join our school. What do you think will suit him best?" Sarah pointed at Harry, who found himself under the master's scrutiny.

"Hmm, let me see. Hit my hand, as fast and hard as you can." Harry did so, executing a perfect punch thanks to some of the books he had read.

"Not bad. I'd say Jeet Kun Do will be best for him. I hope I see you in the next class, young man." David grinned at the boy and walked away.

"Alright. Give this form to your aunt to sign, and this is your schedule. Classes are sixty pounds a month, but you can get that down to forty if you sign up for at least two years." Sarah explained.

"Thank you." Harry took the papers and headed back home.

"Stupid human breaking my nap. I should bite him, I should." Harry froze when he heard a faint voice as he was working in the yard. Normally, he would trick his relatives into doing his chores, but he still cooked on occasion, and doing the yard work was too good an exercise to pass up.

"Who said that?" Harry turned around wildly, trying to find the voice.

"Just a bit closer and I bite his ankle." The voice was heard again, giving Harry a location.

He looked down, noticing a small garden snake near his foot.

"Don't bite me." Harry felt the urge to speak to it, and was surprised when the snake slithered back from him.

"You speak our language." The snake sounded shocked.

"I do?" Harry had not noticed this.

"Yes, you do. My mother told me legends of humans with the power to speak our tongue, but I never met one." The snake sounded excited now and eagerly crawled up Harry's hand when he reached for it.

"So, what does this mean for me?" Harry was always eager to explore new powers.

"Well, snakes will obey you if you ask them to do something, unless you're putting their lives at risk or they are already following the orders of another speaker." The snake replied.

"I see. Say, is there a contract or something with any special snakes you might know about?" Harry felt it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"There might be. I'll ask around and come back in three days." The snake seemed thoughtful.

"Thank you. I'll give you a mouse when you get back." Harry grinned as the snake slithered away, singing off key a song about mice.

"Where's my mouse?" Harry heard the hissing voice of his new friend as he was pruning a rose bush.

"One moment." Harry went to the shed and took a live mouse from an old toolbox.

"What did you find out?" Harry asked once the snake had swallowed the mouse.

"There is a contract, and I sent word you wanted it. So, this morning I got word that the guardian of the contract is coming here to see you. He'll be here in a week." The snake replied.

"Why so long?" Harry was curious.

"He's living in some place called Amazon. He said it was really far." The snake didn't seem impressed.

"That's on the other side of the world. How did you contact him?" Harry was surprised that a simple garden snake could send a message so far so quickly.

"I don't know how it works." The snake replied with the equivalent of a shrug.

Whatever Harry was expecting when he went to meet the guardian of the snake contract in the park, he was still surprised to see the fifteen foot long silver snake with long white wings sprouting behind its head.

"You are the speaker?" The coatl asked lazily. Harry simply nodded.

"Many have sought this contract, but none have proven worthy. Why do you think you are different?" The coatl continued in an almost bored tone.

"I cannot say. However, if you give me a chance, I might surprise you." Harry replied after a few moments of thought.

"A most interesting answer. Perhaps I will give you a chance. Perhaps you'll even grow strong enough to call upon the ancient serpents to aid you." The coatl mused, before it unhinged its jaw and spat out a large rolled up sheet of parchment. Harry took it, surprised that it was bone dry.

"Sign your name in blood. As the new contract signer, you also become its guardian." The coatl instructed him.

"How does the contract work, exactly? I mean, if I summon a snake, does it come from somewhere else in the world?" Harry asked.

"You do not summon actual serpents. You summon the spirit of one, and give it form trough your own power. That is why, the greater the serpent, the more power it needs to manifest. This contract will allow you to summon any breed of snake as well as my kind. You need not worry about endangering summons since their bodies are formed of your own power and can be remade again." The coatl explained.

"Are there any other contracts in the world?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but you cannot sign them. The spirits accept only one contract per person. However, it is allowed to obtain a contract for someone other than yourself." The coatl replied after a short pause.

"Thank you. You will not regret your decision." Harry said firmly.

"We shall see, human." The coatl hissed back as it flew up.


	3. Chapter 3

Well, here is the third chapter. Not much to say other than enjoy :)

**Chapter 3**

"Stupid humans." Harry grinned at that and the other insults the snakes were flinging at the visitors at the reptile house in the local zoo.

They had come here to celebrate his cousin's birthday, and while Harry felt bored with how the obese boy complained about his presents, the zoo was actually quite fun, especially the reptile house.

His summoning skill was getting along pretty well, even if he couldn't summon anything larger than a small python.

Also, he managed to learn two useful techniques when he researched anything related to snakes in Naruto.

The first was Kanashibari, a technique that could be used to paralyze a target. The description said it was simply more focused application of killing intent, helping him learn that as well.

The second was the Sen'eijashu, a technique that summoned one or two special snakes that shot out from the user's sleeve and were used to bind and restrain the target. Coated with chakra, the snakes had enough force to smash trough a wall, and their length could also be regulated.

"Finally, a wizard. Hey, come closer." Harry stopped when he heard a snake speak up. He walked up to see a large black snake with a red stripe on its back looking back at him.

"You have to get me out of here. The lack of magic in this place is killing me." The snake begged him.

"Hold on." Harry weaved a genjutsu with practiced ease and began thinking on how to get trough the glass. In his focus, he was shocked when the glass suddenly vanished.

"That was new." Harry frowned as the snake rushed out and coiled around his waist like a belt.

"You have strong magic. I can feel my health improving already." The snake hissed in gratitude.

"We'll talk later." Harry moved the genjutsu to hide his new friend instead, and asked him to stay quiet.

"So, what sort of snake are you?" Harry asked once they were home. Subtle manipulation had gotten him his own room, and he was currently on his bed, conversing with the snake he rescued.

"I'm a striped Egyptian asp, wizard. The deadliest breed of serpents after the basilisk, but we do not consider that abomination one of us." The snake replied proudly.

"Why not? And why are you calling me a wizard?" Harry frowned.

"Basilisks are made, not born. That is why we despise them. And I'm calling you a wizard because you are one. Your magic proves it." The snake replied.

"So, you're poisonous, huh? Can I have some venom?" Harry grinned evilly.

"Of course. But first, we must bond so that my venom cannot harm you. Give me some of your blood and accept mine. Then, I'll give you as much venom as you want." Harry quickly completed the ritual, and moments later, had a small bottle of clear venom.

"Is there an antidote?" Harry asked.

"A bezoar or phoenix tears will counter it provided they are taken within a minute of biting." The snake replied smugly.

"A bezoar?" Harry pronounced the new word carefully.

"A small stone found in the stomach of a goat. It can neutralize almost every poison." The snake answered.

"What happens to a victim of this poison?" Harry asked.

"The death is slow. First there's the fever, followed by hallucinations. Next, you'll start coughing blood, followed by spasms and shivers. Two hours after biting, you're dead." The snake sounded proud of its lethality.

"Not something to be used lightly, then. Thanks, anyway. Do you want some food?" Harry asked as he hid the bottle under a loose floorboard.

"I was fed today. I will not need more food for a week, just magic." The snake curled on top of him as he lay down.

"I wonder why they were so afraid from a mere letter." Harry mused as the newly named Acheron lazed in a patch of sunlight.

"Why don't you take the letter, master? Your skills would make such a task simple." The snake mused.

"In time, Acheron. Seeing their reactions is far too amusing to let it end quickly." Harry grinned.

"Make them suffer for as long as possible, huh? I approve. We should go to Egypt sometime. You'll like it there." Acheron commented.

"You just want to brag to your cousins that you're the familiar of the snake contract holder." Harry poked him on the head.

The torment of Vernon Dursley by the mysterious letters continued for over a week, until the man snapped and took his family away on a wild ride trough the country that finally led them to an abandoned hut out to sea during a violent storm.

Harry appeared as shocked as the rest of the Dursleys, but inwardly, he was howling with laughter. He was certain it had to do with magic, but he was having too much fun to care at this point.

Just around midnight, he remembered that it was his birthday today. In just a few seconds, he was going to turn eleven.

Just as the clock finished chiming, a loud pounding awoke the inhabitants of the hut.

Harry was impressed when the door was knocked clean off its hinges and a huge man with long hair and beard in a large fur coat walked in.

"Stay back, I'm armed." Vernon was clutching a rifle in his hands, but Harry could sense the fear coming off him.

"Oh, be quiet, Dursley you old prune." The man effortlessly bent the barrel of the gun and yanked it out of Vernon's hands.

"Damn." Harry whispered. It seemed the man heard him, as he turned to face him.

"Harry, there you are. You've grown since I last saw you. You were such a wee thing back then. Got something for you. Might have sat on it at some point, but it will taste alright." The man handed him a large box. Inside it was a large birthday cake for him.

True, the cake was crushed, but the mere gesture of it touched Harry. To think someone would actually care enough to remember his birthday.

"Thank you. If you don't mind me asking, who are you?" Harry decided to indulge his curiosity at last.

"Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Of course, you'll know all about Hogwarts." The man spoke proudly.

"Not really. They don't like to talk about magic." Harry shocked not just Hagrid, but his relatives as well.

"How do you know about that, boy?" Vernon narrowed his already beady eyes.

"Acheron told me, of course." Harry smirked. The snake usually showed up when he heard his name. True enough; the snake poked his head out of his shirt.

His aunt shrieked like a banshee and ran away to the room she and Vernon shared, while the two Dursley men paled as Harry gently scratched the snake and began to hiss at it.

"Blimey, you're a parselmouth." Hagrid was shocked at this. Harry Potter held what was considered the darkest of gifts in these days. Not only that, but he had a very dangerous magical snake with him.

"How long has that thing been with you, boy?" Vernon finally managed to get angry enough to overcome his fear.

"Since we went to the zoo. You're lucky I'm not a vengeful person, uncle, or he'd have been visiting you in your sleep." Again Vernon paled and rushed away, his son in tow.

"Harry, I should warn you, most magical people don't think kindly to snake speakers." Hagrid spoke carefully.

"Are you one?" Harry asked carefully.

"I won't say I'm fond of the little buggers. Also, the only other speaker I know doesn't help the reputation much." Hagrid sighed.

"Who is he?" Harry was surprised to hear another speaker lived in this country.

"He was a very Dark wizard, Harry. As dark as they come. Some years back, he gathered a bunch of followers and tried to take over. Desperate times, they were. People were getting killed left, right and centre, you didn't know who to trust anymore." Hagrid began slowly.

"What happened then?" Harry was surprised things were so bad just because of one wizard.

"He was destroyed. Your parents fought against him, along with many others, but for some reason, he had targeted your family. You went into hiding, but he managed to find you. He killed your parents, but when he tried to kill you, his curse bounced back and struck him instead. That's where your scar came from." Hagrid finished.

"What's was his name?" Harry felt he deserved to know the name of his first kill.

"Tom Riddle, but he called himself Lord Voldemort." Hagrid shivered as he said the last name.

"So, what do we do now?" Harry asked.

"Go to sleep. Tomorrow, I'll take you shopping for your Hogwarts stuff." Hagrid told him.

"Can we really get all this in London?" Harry stared at the long list of strange items that was accompanied with his acceptance letter.

"If you know where to look." Hagrid winked.

"Strange, I thought people would swarm around you, considering your fame." Hagrid mused as they passed trough the Leaky Cauldron unmolested.

The truth was, Harry had used Henge to change himself into a nondescript brown haired boy and used genjutsu on Hagrid to make him not notice.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Harry." Hagrid grinned as they walked in the magical shopping district of Britain.

"Goblins are good smiths, then?" Harry asked their guide as they traveled to his vault.

"The best." The goblin said proudly.

"How can I commission something to be made for me?" Harry asked as Hagrid stared strangely at him.

"I can escort you to our master smith after you withdraw your money. Your order will be calculated and the appropriate amount will be taken from your vault. Be advised, goblin enchantments are quite costly." Griphook replied in a business like tone.

"Harry, what exactly do you need made?" Hagrid was curious.

"Nothing much, why don't you go in the apothecary and the bookstore for me? I'll meet you in the robes shop when I'm done here." Harry gave the huge man a pleading look.

"I was told you wished to commission a weapon." The master smith was a gruff goblin smelling of smoke and sharpening oil.

"Not a weapon, exactly. I need three hundred of these, one hundred of these and a hundred of these." Harry gave the goblin schematics for shuriken throwing stars, kunai knives and caltrops.

"Also, I won't be needing enchantments, just sharpen them before delivery and add a case of oil." The goblin was shocked by the order. Never in his career had he been asked to make something so… ordinary.

"Well, an order is an order. Let me see, high grade carbon steel, plus the work involved… it comes around at six hundred galleons." The goblin calculated it in seconds.

"Sounds a bit pricey." Harry complained.

"The cost of the steel alone is two hundred. Also, this will need specialized moulds and tools. It's good you already have the manufacturing process described here, or I'd charge you an extra hundred for research purposes. Rest assured your order will be of the highest quality possible." The goblin replied and watched the human child walk away. He was a strange one, that.

"Excuse me; do you have a calligraphy set?" Once again, Harry surprised Hagrid with an unusual request in the stationary store.

The man dug around a bit, but eventually found a professional set.

"Only thing left is a wand and no better place for it than Ollivander's." Hagrid was happy they were finally done.

His joy turned out to be premature. After two hours, Harry still hadn't found a wand, even though one was very close.

"Hmm, perhaps you need something different, Mr. Potter. I was sent a few wand samples from a few friends from abroad. Perhaps one of them will choose you." Ollivander walked in the back and returned with a box with around a dozen wands. Five minutes later, Harry felt like he had found his wand.

"That one is one of the more unusual wands. Holly and the hair of a Japanese Yuki-Onna. An experimental combination, if you will. I'll have to ask you to write back on how it serves you." Ollivander smiled with his strange smile.

"How much?" Harry reached for his money bag.

"Your reports will be payment enough. I am curious to see how it performs in your hands, Mr. Potter." Ollivander replied with a waved him off.

"This was one strange day." Harry finally collapsed in his bed.

The month remaining until Harry went to school was spent in study of his school books, or better said, Harry went off to train while he left a dozen Kage Bunshin to go over the books.

"Can I eat it, master?" Acheron stared hungrily at the toad that somehow got inside their compartment when he was buying sweets.

"It is probably someone's pet, Acheron. Besides, I fed you this morning." True enough, Harry had bought a box of mice from the pet store in the Alley.

"Excuse me, have you seen… Neville, over here." A girl with bushy brown hair walked in and took the toad. A nervous boy with a round face joined them a moment later.

"Trevor, there you are." The boy was clearly relieved to see his pet.

"Please, take a seat." Harry smiled at the two.

"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger." The girl introduced herself. "Neville Longbottom." The boy almost whispered.

"Charmed. Harry Potter." Two gasps of shock followed.

"Are you really?" Hermione practically shivered with awe.

"Yes I am, and yes, everything but my parentage written in those books about me is completely wrong." Harry smirked at the scandalized look she gave him when he said that.

"All of them can't be wrong." She pressed stubbornly.

"Like I said, they got two things right. My name, my parents and the fact that Voldemort vanished when he tried to kill me. Other than that, it's pure speculation at best, and utter bollocks at worst." This time, she could offer no reply.

"A word of advice. You're muggleborn, yes?" Harry asked, and she nodded nervously.

"It would be wise to tone done your eagerness. Not every pureblood is as nice as Neville here, and some won't take kindly to, if you'll excuse me, a mudblood showing them up." Harry's words made Neville gasp.

"If I said that word, my gran would scourgify my mouth." Neville mumbled.

"Don't worry; I'm not a guy that cares about blood purity. I'm just giving you a friendly warning." Harry smiled at a pensive Hermione.

"I'll keep it in mind. You're not what I expected." She admitted.

"I know." Harry smirked, thinking about the fourth compartment of his trunk, filled with ninja weapons and over two dozen bottles of snake venom.

The compartment door opened again, and three boys walked in.

"I heard Harry Potter was on the train. Are you him?" A blonde boy with a sharp face asked in a snobbish tone.

"No. If you find him though, can you get me his autograph?" Harry smiled eagerly.

The blond shrugged and walked away.

"Why did you lie to him?" Hermione asked with a frown.

"Neville, why don't you answer that." Harry turned to the shy boy.

"Err, that was Draco Malfoy. His family supported You-Know-Who in the last war. When he fell, his dad claimed he was under the Imperius curse and stayed out of prison. Gran said he had to pay some heavy bribes to make that stick, though." Neville replied.

"Does that answer your question?" Harry turned to a gob smacked Hermione.

"How do you know so much?" She frowned.

"Here, you can borrow these." Harry fished out two books. One was called 'Wizard etiquette', and the other was 'Modern magical families and their ancestry'.

Right then, the driver announced they would be getting to Hogwarts soon.

"Oh, I should get back to my compartment. Thanks for the books, Harry." Hermione stood up.

"Anytime. Neville, I read that our parents were close friends. Want to continue a family tradition?" Harry held out his hand to the boy.

"I'd like that." Neville seemed to lose a bit of his nervousness as he shook it.

"They have strong magic, master. They will make great allies." Acheron commented.

"I agree. Now, let's see what sort of chaos we can cause in this school." Harry smirked.

"They won't know what hit them." Acheron tingled in anticipation.


	4. Chapter 4

I'm actually surprised how fast I'm writing this story. I think I this one turned out rather well, but I'll let you decide.

**Chapter 4**

"The first years, professor McGonagall." Hagrid led the group of new students over the lake and trough the castle.

McGonagall was a very strict looking witch, and everyone stood a bit straighter under her gaze.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few moments, you will be sorted into your respective houses. During your stay here, those houses will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will have you lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor.

The Sorting Ceremony will start in a few moments before the rest of the school, so I suggest you smarten yourselves up while you wait." McGonagall walked away.

Meanwhile, Harry was preparing his mind. In Naruto, he had read about a ninja clan that could overtake people's minds and read their thoughts. Expecting something similar to exist in the magical world, Harry used imaginary shadows to hide his thoughts, following the creed that a shinobi is unseen. Of course, he had no way of knowing if his method was effective, but it was some protection.

After all, he had secrets he wanted to protect.

While he was preparing himself, McGonagall had returned and led them to a massive hall.

The hall was packed with students sitting on four long tables, but what caught his eye was the ceiling, or what appeared to be a lack thereof. The ceiling looked like the sky outside.

'That's some illusion.' Harry thought as he waited for the Sorting Ceremony to start.

'A talking hat? Wizards are strange.' Harry smirked lightly as the sorting began.

Hermione ended up in Gryffindor, as did Neville. Malfoy ended in Slytherin to no one's surprise. Finally, it was Harry's turn.

"Do you mind removing all these shadows, Mr. Potter?" The hat spoke loudly after a few moments on his head.

'Much better. I must say I have never seen Occlumency employed quite like that.' The hat spoke into his mind this time.

'Occlumency?' Harry tested the new word carefully.

'Yes, it is the art of protecting your mind against intrusion. Now, your method is good, but it does not protect your mind, merely hides it. Still, if I could not find your thoughts, I doubt anyone else can. Now, on to the sorting. Your cunning is certainly your strongest trait, but you also possess qualities of other houses as well. A most difficult task.' The hat mused.

'How about Gryffindor?' Harry suggested.

'You do have the qualities that house seeks, but they are not your strongest trait. Why do you ask for that house?' The hat asked.

'Well, my friends are there, and besides, a shinobi attracts no attention. Any other house would put me under close scrutiny.' Harry knew enough about the boy-who-lived image to know what the magical world thought of him.

'True, things will be more complicated for you in other houses, especially Slytherin. Alright, might as well send one snake in the lion's den.' The hat replied with a mental sigh and shouted "Gryffindor."

Harry took the hat off and headed to the Gryffindor table, sitting next to Hermione.

Harry looked around the hall, eyes quickly moving to the staff table. At that time, the Headmaster stood up.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

Harry's eyebrow rose at those strange words, but chose not to say anything.

Instead, he focused on the nearly appeared food.

"Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore stood up after the dessert was cleared.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year; the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." This caught Harry's attention. His instincts told him there was more to this than it met the eye.

After that rather grim announcement, Dumbledore asked that they all sing the school song, which everyone sang to a different tune. Once they were done, the prefects led them to their dormitories.

* * *

The first week was a plethora of new experiences for Harry. Magic was very different from shinobi techniques, and as Harry discovered after vaporizing his matchstick during Transfiguration, needed less energy as well.

All in all, the week was enjoyable, aside from his first potions class. Harry was very excited to attend this class. All those dangerous potions made his mouth water. He had discovered over fifty useful substances to coat his weapons with in the ingredients alone.

However, the teacher was hardly ideal. Professor Snape was a tall, sallow man with long black hair parted like a curtain over his face.

When he took roll, he paused at Harry's name.

"Ah yes. Harry Potter. Our new… celebrity."

Several Slytherin students snickered at that.

"Potter." Snape asked after he had finished his course introduction. "What would I get if I added a powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Harry felt a prickling in his head as he locked eyes with Snape.

"The Drought of Living Death. It is a very powerful sleeping potion. If you don't mind, sir, I had a question about a potion." Harry noticed the faint trace of surprise at the man, but Snape nodded his head, curious to see what the boy-who-lived wanted.

"I read about a potion using scarab shells, ibis feathers and striped asp venom. Is it real?" Harry saw the man's eyes widen in shock.

"That is an old Egyptian potion used in traps. It is lethal even in the smallest doses." Snape's response surprised the students. How did Harry know about something like that?

"Fortunately for you, we will not be making such complex potions until your sixth year. Today we'll be making a potion to cure boils. These are the instructions. Pair up and begin." Snape turned his eyes away from Harry.

Harry approached Neville and thanks to his sharp and quick reflexes when Neville tried to add the porcupine quills at the wrong moment, their potion was well made.

"Thanks for your help, Harry." Neville smiled shyly at him as they walked away from Potions.

"Don't mention it. You're not so bad, Neville, you just need to believe it." Harry plainly saw that Neville's biggest problem was confidence.

"Stop kidding, Harry. I'm nothing special." Neville shook his head.

"It's those kinds of thoughts that are holding you back, Neville. I want you to promise me something. Ten times a day, tell yourself, 'I am a great wizard.' Understood?" Harry stopped and turned at the boy with a stern gaze.

"Alright." Neville nodded nervously.

"And don't be afraid to talk to me about anything bothering you. You too, Hermione." The girl had also stopped with them.

* * *

"Welcome to your first flying lesson. Well, what are you waiting for, everyone stand by a broomstick. Hurry up now." The students rushed to obey, and soon, everyone was lined up next to very old looking brooms.

Things went well until Neville, who was next to Harry, shot up, and if Harry's quick move hadn't grabbed him, there was no telling what would have happened.

"Thanks Harry." Neville whispered gratefully.

"Alright now, who's up for a little race? Nothing fancy, just to the lake and back." Madam Hooch turned to her students.

Malfoy stepped forward immediately.

"Mr. Malfoy. Anyone from Gryffindor?" She turned to the other half of the class.

"I'll do it." Harry stepped forward, eager to see how fast the old broom could go.

"On your marks, get set, go." The two boys shot off, pushing their brooms to their limit.

"Good flying, Malfoy." Harry said once they were back.

"You too, Potter. Think you'll join your Quidditch team next year?" Malfoy was surprised Harry was complimenting him after tricking him on the train.

Harry merely shrugged.

* * *

It was after their next Charms lesson that the peace of Harry and his friends was shaken. Harry was walking with Neville, talking about the class they just had, when Hermione pushed passed them and rushed away.

"What's wrong with Hermione?" Neville frowned.

"I guess she couldn't handle the truth." Ron Weasley, a tall red-haired boy that was in their dorm as well spoke behind them.

"What did you say to her?" Harry turned towards him.

"Just that no one can stand her because she's a bossy know-it-all." Ron replied smugly, only to pale like a sheet and take a step back.

"Ron, if you ever insult my friends again, you will regret it." With that, Harry rushed away, Neville following right behind him.

They found out from a few other girls that Hermione was crying in the lavatory and wanted to be left alone.

"What should we do, Harry?" Neville's usual shyness faded out of concern for his only other friend. They were sitting in the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, but neither had any appetite.

"Give her some time, Neville. Once she's calmed down, we'll set her straight about listening to brainless gits." Harry shot a short glare at Ron.

Suddenly, professor Quirell, the DADA teacher rushed in, a look of terror on his face.

"Troll… in the dungeons… thought you ought to know." With that, he passed out.

Panic ensued at those words. Fortunately, Dumbledore managed to calm them down.

"Prefects, escort your Houses back to their dormitories." Dumbledore ordered.

"Harry, Hermione doesn't know about the troll." Neville turned to him as they walked with the other first years towards Gryffindor tower.

"Come on." Harry pulled him away from the line and the two quickly snuck towards the girl's lavatory just in time to hear a scream.

They ran like crazy, and walked in to a sight that froze them for a moment.

Hermione was huddled in the corner, while the troll loomed above her, club held high.

'I'll have to use that. Hope it works.' Harry cocked his hand back.

"Sen'ei Tajashu." Over a dozen snakes shot from his sleeve, wrapping tightly around the troll and stopping his hand from descending.

Hermione watched in awe as Harry formed a shape with his hand, and one of the snakes wrapped around the troll's neck with a sudden jerk, snapped it.

Neville was about to say something when the snakes burst into smoke. The troll, unrestrained now, collapsed like a house of cards.

"Harry, what…" Hermione started to ask, but Harry stopped her.

"Later. Both of you come here and hold on tight." Harry pulled them to him and formed a single shape with his hand.

"Ninpou: Meisaigakure." Hermione and Neville were shocked senseless when their bodies started to become transparent.

"Follow my steps and keep quiet." Harry whispered as several teachers rushed in the lavatory and stared at the troll in surprise. Meanwhile, Harry and his friends snuck out the door, hidden by Harry's illusion.

"How did you do all that, Harry? What sort of spells were those?" Hermione stared at him with demanding eyes as soon as they were away from prying eyes.

"It's a long story. Come on; let's find some place more private to talk." Harry led them towards an empty classroom he knew was out of the way.

"Well, it's like this…" Harry began, but Neville interrupted him.

"Harry, there's a really big snake coming towards you." The boy stared at the long black snake with obvious fear.

"Oh, that's just Acheron." Harry smiled and bent down to pick up the snake. It slithered up his sleeve until his head poked out of his collar.

"I was going to warn you about the troll, but it seems you found it." Acheron hissed.

"Who let it in?" Harry hissed back, ignoring the shocked looks of his friends.

"The one with the turban." Acheron replied.

"It seems Quirell let in our smelly friend in the castle." Harry smirked.

"Harry, I don't know how many more surprises I can handle." Neville complained.

"Alright. Now, as I was saying…" Step by step, Harry explained where he learned his shinobi skills, and what he had accomplished so far.

"Do you think we could learn that as well?" Hermione asked nervously.

"I don't see why not. But this takes more than just memorizing the spell, Hermione. It takes a lot of practice to learn techniques, even the simple ones. Also, if you overdo it, it can really mess you up. I remember the one time I exhausted myself. I spent three days in bed barely able to move a finger." Harry warned them.

"I'll be careful. Please, Harry." Hermione gave him the puppy eye treatment.

"Alright. Neville, you in mate?" Harry turned to the third group member.

"Sure. Just take it slow, alright?" Neville grinned lightly.

* * *

The two took to their shinobi lessons with great zeal, even if their progress was very slow.

"Don't be disappointed, it took me over three years to get where I am now." Harry encouraged them as they practiced walking up the wall.

"You'll be spending Christmas here, Harry?" Hermione asked him while hanging upside down on the ceiling. Not surprising, her chakra control was even better than Harry's was, but in comparison, she had significantly smaller reserves.

Neville took a bit longer, but he managed it as well.

"Yeah. See you guys when you get back. Remember to practice the Henge while you're home." Harry told them.

"But we can't do magic at home." Hermione reminded him.

"I've been training almost daily for the last three years, Hermione. No one's bothered me about it." Harry shrugged at the stumped look.

"Alright then. I'll try to master it before I get back." She walked back down. Harry would have simply flipped down, but she could not channel chakra trough her body yet to enhance it yet.

"What are you going to do while we're away?" Neville asked, still practicing seal forming. His dexterity has shot off like a rocket since he started training.

"Try to find my elemental affinity. Since we don't have testing paper, I'll have to do it the hard way. Try all five and see which feels easiest." Harry replied.

"Have fun." Neville nodded and returned to his exercise.

"Where did you get that food anyway?" Harry noticed the Weasley twins Fred and George, the self proclaimed agents of chaos in Hogwarts. They were currently sitting in the common room eating a generous pile of sweets.

"Just made a quick stop at the kitchens. Want some?" One of them offered him a pasty.

"No thanks. I know better than to take food from you two. You could tell me where the kitchens are." Harry pushed the pasty back.

"And why should we?" The other seemed disappointed the obvious prank failed.

"You know how to get into the Slytherin dorms?" Harry answered with a question.

"We might know how." They replied together.

"A deal, then. How would you like to release a bunch of snakes as a welcoming present for our Slytherin friends?" Now, the twins grinned like crazy.

"And you would be able to provide these slippery critters?" They asked.

"Fifty of them. Once I give them to you, they will vanish in two hours, so come to me just before you do the prank. Don't worry, they won't bite anyone." Harry replied.

Following the twins instructions, Harry found the kitchen quickly. It was a vast room, filled with small creatures with long ears.

'House elves. Well, it makes sense.' Harry recognized them from his book on magical culture.

"What can we do for you?" One elf approached him quickly.

"You know the castle really well, right?" Harry asked, and the elf nodded eagerly.

"Then, do you know a place where I can study anything I wanted without being disturbed?" Harry asked, but this time, the elf was reluctant.

"I swear I won't study any Dark magic." This seemed to reassure the elf, and it described a special room on the seventh floor.

Harry thanked him and went to test it.

'I need a place to learn to be a shinobi.' Harry thought as he passed three times by the wall opposite the tapestry of a wizard getting beaten by trolls his mind focused on what he wanted.

When he made the third pass, a simple wooden door appeared. He walked in, only to stop in awe.

He was in a large courtyard, complete with a clear blue sky and trees. He could even see parts of a city beyond the fence. There was a large obstacle course in one part of the yard and several targets in the other. A table was laden with shuriken and kunai. However, one thing told him this was not a city. Other than a faint breeze, no sound could be heard. Deciding to explore, he walked in the building next to the yard. He passed two classrooms and reached a library with hundreds of scrolls lined up in shelves.

"I bloody love magic." He screamed as he grabbed the first scroll.

AN: Harry and his friends will be the only ninja in the story, and there will be no characters from Naruto unless they are mentioned as part of the show. As for the pairing, that one is still open, but I have a few preferences I'm working on. The Room of Requirment was brought in a bit early, but it was critical for my story and had to be done. Anyway, expect the next chapter soon.


	5. Chapter 5

A bit shorter than the last two, but I wanted to finish year one quickly.

**Chapter 5**

"Did you get my present, Harry?" Hermione asked once they had met in the common room.

"Yes, thank you. I didn't read much of them, though." She had given him the first three volumes of Naruto.

"I have your presents in my trunk. Come on." Harry led them to his dorm, which was empty.

"Harry, where did you get these?" Hermione gasped as she opened the large box.

Inside was a kunai pouch that went on the leg, two hip bags and a ninja headband. The symbol was of three lightning bolts.

"These are real weapons, Harry." Hermione yelped when she cut herself on a kunai.

"That's right. You have twenty kunai, fifty shuriken, twenty explosive notes and a bottle of soldier pills and blood replenishing pills." Harry showed them each item.

"Harry, where did you get all this? The weapons I can guess, but explosive notes and the medicines are not something you just find." She turned back at him once she gathered everything in the box.

"I found this room here. Basically, it becomes whatever you need it to become. So, I asked for a shinobi academy. I found everything inside. Of course, I still had to make everything. It really cut on my training time, but proper equipment is just as important." Harry grinned.

"Can we see it?" Neville was also excited to see a room like that.

"Tonight. I also got a really strange gift from someone. An Invisibility Cloak." Harry added.

"Those are very rare, Harry." Neville was surprised someone would just give away such a powerful artifact.

"I haven't really used it. Meisaigakure is far more useful." Harry shrugged.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, a different meeting was taking place.

"So, what are your observations on young Mr. Potter so far?" Dumbledore turned to Snape and McGonagall.

"He's not quite what I expected, Albus. He's usually so indifferent; you'd think he's antisocial. However, when he's with his friends, he's talking, laughing and playing like every other boy his age." McGonagall began.

"He also has an uncanny ability to avoid or diffuse conflict. My house holds no greater dislike for him than any other Gryffindor." Snape added.

"It seems he is a bit private, but I see nothing wrong with that. His grades are good?" Dumbledore asked.

"His practical scores are the top of his year. Ms. Granger is the only one that surpasses his theoretical work." McGonagall smiled proudly.

"As much as it pains me to say it, it seems he's inherited more from his mother than just his eyes. His potions work is exemplary. However, there is one thing about him that puzzles me. He has most unusual mental shields." Snape's words caused the two others to turn towards him.

"Severus, I have warned you more than once not to use Legilimency on the students." McGonagall glared.

"I assure you, Minerva; Severus does not use it without just cause. In this case, I asked him to do it to determine Harry's mental state." Dumbledore interjected.

"I have been unable to do so, however. The boy's mind is no better protected than any person his age is. However, once inside his mind, I found nothing. Just an endless black void. Not even one random thought. The boy doesn't protect his mind, he hides it." Snape explained his findings.

"A most interesting approach to Occlumency. I wonder how he managed it?" Dumbledore mused.

"If that is all, Albus, I have classes tomorrow." McGonagall stood up, as did Snape. Dumbledore dismissed them and walked towards a window.

"What are you hiding, Harry?" The old man sighed.

* * *

The weeks rolled by in a flurry of study and training for the trio. Neville and Hermione had finally managed to master the three basic techniques and were busy exploring their elemental affinities and learning low level offensive techniques.

As for Harry, he had finally added truly offensive techniques to his arsenal. He had learned two wind techniques and one earth, keeping true to his affinities.

The first was the Great Breakthrough, a technique that created a strong gale that could push an enemy away or even clear out a decent patch of ground if enough chakra was used.

The second was the Wind Sword, a technique that created an invisible blade on the user's hand that could cut virtually anything. By regulating the chakra input, one could make anything from a dagger to a six foot long sword.

The last was the Earth Rampart, an earth technique that created a solid wall of packed earth to protect the user. Again, depending on the chakra used, it could form anything from a small six foot tall barricade to a fifty foot tall wall.

"I think we need special abilities. Something beyond the scope of normal ninja. Something an S-class ninja would have." Neville offered an idea as they were resting after a grueling weapons training session.

"It will take time, not to mention it will be very dangerous. We could kill ourselves if we mess things up." Harry turned to the boy in surprise.

"If we want to be great ninja, we need to take the risk." Neville pressed on.

"Tell you what. Pick what you want and research it carefully. Study every possible danger and side effect." Harry warned his friends.

"Harry, I've been thinking about your scar. It's a curse scar, right? It might have some unknown or dangerous properties no one's noticed. I say we should also research sealing methods dealing with such things." Hermione added.

"Alright. You can both form one Kage Bunshin to research your wanted ability. I'll work on that and send a couple to look at seals. Of course, that will take time too. They're chakra intensive, and I can't exactly use seals on myself, can I?" Harry laughed.

* * *

The final exams had passed, and to the boy's surprise, Hermione had asked that they help her with her own unique ability.

"You're sure you researched it carefully?" Harry asked as they went to the Room of Requirement.

"Yes. The ritual needs a lot of seals, but nothing too complex. I'm sure you can handle it. Afterwards, I'll need you to paint a Henge seal on me. The only side effects I found were a change in appearance." She explained.

"You want to do this?" Neville was busy going trough her notes, and was surprised the girl wanted that ability of all things.

"It will help me increase my chakra pool quickly, and enhance my affinity even further." Hermione defended her choice.

"What about you, Harry? What did you pick?" Neville turned to the other boy.

"Actually, I did the first part." Harry rolled up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo on his left arm. "A summoning tattoo. I don't even need to make the hand signs anymore." Harry grinned.

"What are the rest?" Hermione asked as she started preparing the primary seal on the floor.

"The second is the ability to summon the Kusanagi sword. I figured, since I am the snake summoner, might as well go in that direction. The third is the ability to use the Skin Shedding and Face Stealing techniques." The last part shocked the other two.

"Well, all I'll say about my pick is that art is a blast." Neville grinned wildly.

"Alright, Harry. You need to paint those seals over my body now." A blushing Hermione took off her clothes as Harry picked up the calligraphy set and began painting the needed seals.

"Alright Neville. Push as much chakra as you can into the seals." Harry began forming hand seals as the entire array began to glow white.

"Seal." Harry pushed his own chakra as he activated the seal. A blinding light filled the room the instant his hand touched the ground.

A few minutes later, having cleared the spots from their eyes, the two boys turned to see if Hermione was all right.

"She's in perfect health, just exhausted." Neville used a basic diagnostic technique on her.

"Thank god. When she said her appearance would change, she wasn't kidding." Harry whistled.

Hermione's skin had changed to a pale blue, and on touch was far a bit rougher than normal skin. Her bushy brown hair had smoothed out somewhat and turned dark blue. The biggest shock were the six gills on the sides of her neck.

"Did it work?" Hermione woke up groggily, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth.

"Yeah. Congratulations, shark-girl." Harry smirked as she picked up her clothes.

"Very funny, guys. Now, just paint a Henge seal on me so I can get out of here and go to bed." She snapped in response.

"Alright. I've put enough chakra to run it for three hours. After that, it will start draining from you." In a puff of smoke, her old look appeared once more.

"This will take some getting used to. When are you guys doing yours?" She asked.

"Not until next year. Both of my changes need some serious alterations and seal work. I still need to research more, but it should be safe." Harry replied.

"I'm going to spend the summer to gather clay. I still need to research a few more things to complete it all." Neville added.

"Alright. Come on, all that sealing is way too exhausting." Harry yawned.

* * *

"See you guys next year. Train hard." Harry parted ways with his friends at the train station in London and headed towards his waiting uncle.

"You have something to say, boy?" The obese man noticed his nephew staring at him once they were in the car.

"Just this. If you threaten me in any way this summer, they'll call you Snakebite Dursley." Vernon paled a bit remembering the dangerous reptile Harry revealed last summer.

Without a word, he started the car. The rest of the trip passed in complete silence.

AN: Alright, since Harry and the gang never found out about Fluffy, they never bothered to figure out what it was guarding, so no big fight with Quirell. To those that mentioned that Harry and the others may be overpowered, rest assured that I am not trying to make them so. Harry will not become a serious powerhouse until at least the fourth year, as will the others. Their new unique abilities are merely there to help them reach that position faster.

After all, the ninja they are trying to emulate are far older than they are, and have trained hard since kids. I mean, most S-rank ninja are at least over thirty if not more in the show, so I hope you can understand if they're getting strong a bit fast, it is only so that they can reliably use the advanced techniques they plan to learn in the future.


	6. Chapter 6

Here comes the next chapter. Again, this one is a bit rushed, but please bare with me as I wanted to go over the first two books quickly. The pace will slow down starting with the next chapter, and things will get more detailed. As for pairings, I've narrowed the choice to Fleur and Luna as the final choice. Those interested in voting will find the poll in my profile.

**Chapter 6**

"You seem troubled, master." Acheron turned to Harry as he read a book on potions.

"I've been thinking. I haven't received a single letter from Neville and Hermione. I understand if Hermione has trouble sending an owl to me, but I expected at least an update on their training, or questions about something, anything." Harry closed the book and stood up.

"Perhaps they don't wish to risk writing about your skills. Owls can be intercepted, after all." Acheron suggested.

"That is a possibility." Harry nodded. The conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Enter." Harry did not turn around. He could tell it was his uncle.

The fat man noticed the snake lazing on the desk and gulped audibly before he spoke.

"I wanted to talk to you about the dinner party tonight." Vernon was hosting a party for a very wealthy potential client, and wanted everything to be perfect.

"If they get curious, just tell them I'm sick. I'll keep the noise down." Harry replied shortly.

"Alright then." Vernon let out a long sigh once he was outside.

That night, the party had already begun downstairs. Harry took a short trip to the bathroom, but when he returned, his room was not empty.

"What's a house elf doing here?" Harry frowned at the sight of the magical creature.

"I've come to warn you, Harry Potter. You must not go back to Hogwarts. It is too dangerous." The elf squeaked.

"Acheron, restrain him." The elf froze at the sound of Parseltongue and so did not react when the snake jumped from behind him and wrapped around the elf, his head very close to the elf's throat.

"That scent on you… Malfoy, of course. And what's this?" Harry reached into the dirty pillowcase the elf was wearing instead of clothes and removed a tied bunch of letters.

"This was a mistake, elf." Harry hissed as he saw that several of the letters were weeks old.

"I was just trying to keep you safe." The elf struggled. Without being able to move, the elf couldn't use magic, and the snake would bite him if he tried to apparate. He knew the reptile would sense the buildup of magic.

"I don't need an elf to keep me safe. If I see you again, I will kill you." Harry accentuated his words with killing intent.

"Release him." He said to Acheron.

"You are not usually so cold, master." The snake turned to Harry as he sat down to read his letters.

"He just made me angry. He was treating me like a helpless child, and even had the gall to stop my mail." Harry growled.

"In the eyes of the world, master, you are a child." Acheron reminded him.

* * *

"I need a ride to London tomorrow." Harry turned to his uncle the next day. Vernon was happy he had managed to seal the big deal, so he didn't complain much.

"I'll come back on my own. See you later." Harry parted ways with his uncle near the Leaky Cauldron.

He met the Grangers as well as Neville and his grandmother at Gringotts.

"Harry, there you are. How come you never replied to our letters?" Hermione gave him a light hug when he arrived.

"Long story. I'll tell you later." Harry grinned as they headed towards the vaults while Hermione and her parents went to exchange some pounds.

"Let's hit the stores." Harry grinned once they were out of the bank.

Two hours later, all that was left were their books. This was not as easy to get, since the bookstore was packed with people, thanks to a book signing by Gilderoy Lockhart, a famous author.

Hermione and Neville felt the sensation of chakra being expelled and turned to Harry curiously.

"I don't like being recognized in crowds." Harry whispered back.

* * *

The rest of the summer passed with no further incidents, and before they knew it, the trio were back in Hogwarts.

"So, what have you been up to over the summer?" Harry asked once they were inside the Room of Requirement.

"I've been testing out my gills. We went to the sea for two weeks and it was grand. I managed to master three water techniques." Hermione have them a sharp-toothed grin.

"Check this out." Neville reached into a small pouch on his belt and pulled out a small lump of clay. He squeezed it a couple of times with his hand, and revealed a small clay bird.

"I figured out how to make the figures. I just need the ability to infuse the clay with chakra. I even managed to calculate how much chakra I need for the different types." Neville grinned widely.

"I've been working on my taijutsu mostly and refining my control." Harry shrugged.

* * *

Their first class with Gilderoy Lockhart, their new DADA teacher was a major disappointment for the trio.

After a long test focused on Lockhart himself instead of the subject, the man had the brilliant idea to release a bunch of pixies into the class.

Harry sighed as the pixies zoomed around the room. It seemed the creatures could sense the danger and didn't bother them, but the rest of class rushed out the moment the bell rang.

Lockhart rushed out to his office, but not before he asked them to gather the pixies back in their cage.

"Alright, back to your cage. You had enough fun for one day." Harry shouted. The pixies grumbled at that, but got back in their cage.

"I wonder why they listened to you, Harry?" Hermione wondered once they were outside.

"Most magical creatures have a much sharper sense of magic than wizards. I guess they sensed something about us." Harry shrugged before he stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione frowned.

"Creevey." Harry growled and formed a single hand sign and vanished in a burst of smoke.

Neville giggled loudly at that.

"Man, Harry really hated that kid. Using Shunshin like that…"

"The kid has been stalking him like crazy since we got here. The stress isn't helping Harry." Hermione sighed.

"Yeah. I say he lasts a month before he makes Creevey disappear." Neville smirked.

"Neville, really." Hermione snapped back at the laughing boy. "What happened to the shy boy that was looking his toad a year ago?"

"I guess I found my confidence." Neville shrugged just as a small boy with a camera rushed by them.

"His senses are getting sharper." Hermione commented. Colin must have been on the other side of the corridor when Harry vanished.

* * *

"Good practice today. Our throwing skills have improved a great deal." Harry grinned at his friends as they walked back to their dorms.

"Come… come to me… Let me rip you… Let me tear you… Let me kill you…" Harry froze as a faint voice reached his ears.

"Did you guys hear that?" Harry asked.

"Hear what?" Hermione turned to him.

"A voice, just now." Harry replied.

"No voice Harry. Only a faint hiss, but I thought it was the wind." Neville replied.

"A hiss? Parseltongue. It must have been a snake then. Inside the wall." Harry frowned.

"What did it say?" Hermione noticed his expression.

"Nothing good. We'll have to up our training. Use Kage Bunshin to attend classes if we must." Harry spoke in a hard tone.

* * *

It wasn't until Halloween that they got their first clue as to what it was that Harry had heard.

The caretaker's cat had been found petrified, and a message was written next to it.

"So, what is the Chamber of Secrets, and what sort of snake can just petrify people?" They were back in the RoR to discuss things.

"I don't know about the chamber, but only one creature fits into the picture. A basilisk." Harry's words caused the other two to freeze. A basilisk was one of the most dangerous creatures in the magical world.

"So, you think the Chamber's real, then?" Neville asked nervously.

"That's not the question you should be asking. The question is where is it? My snake scouts have been unable to find a trace of the beast or how it gets inside the corridors." Harry said with a frown. The castle was huge, and there were miles of pipes running trough it, even when ignoring the ones too small for a large snake to pass.

"What about the heir? I'm guessing whoever it is; they have to be a Parselmouth too." Hermione added.

"Again, you're asking the wrong question. The question is not who it is, but how is he doing it." Harry said.

"You know who it is?" Hermione was surprised at that.

"Of course. After all, besides me, there is only one other Parselmouth in the whole world. Voldemort." Harry replied.

"I thought he was dead." Hermione shivered at the idea that the most feared wizard in the modern age might not be dead after all.

"Who knows what happened that night when he tried to kill me. Besides, his name implies fear of death. Surely a maniac like him would have taken precautions for such an eventuality." Harry mused.

"So, what do we do now?" Neville asked.

"Train hard and keep a sharp eye. If we manage to find where the Chamber is, we go in and kill the basilisk and his master." Harry said firmly.

* * *

"Well, at least something good came out of all this business." Harry smiled lightly when they heard that Colin Creevey was found petrified.

"Harry, that's not very nice." Hermione gave him a glare.

"You'd think so too if he was stalking you." Harry defended himself.

Life went on until early December when it was announced that a dueling club was being formed.

It turned out that Lockhart was in charge, assisted by Snape.

"I wonder how good Snape is with a wand." Harry whispered to his friends. The sallow man was rarely seen using his wand.

"That was pretty good, actually. He looks like he's had a lot of practice." Neville whispered.

After the demonstration, Lockhart had called for volunteers to demonstrate blocking.

Snape joined at that point and paired up Harry with Malfoy.

As Lockhart was babbling useless instructions to him, he caught Snape whispering something to Draco.

Draco cast first, since Harry was supposed to block. However, he did not cast a disarming spell. A long black snake burst from his wand and rushed towards Harry.

Everyone was surprised when Harry snickered.

"Big mistake, Draco." Harry grinned at the boy then let out a string of hisses. The snake stopped, then turned around and advanced on Draco with great speed.

Before it could strike, Snape jumped in and vanished it. Everyone turned to stare at Harry afterwards. As he walked down from the platform, the students cleared out a large circle for him to pass.

"Why did you do that?" Hermione couldn't understand why Harry would want people to know he was a Parselmouth.

"I'm hoping it will flush out the real heir. A little negative attention won't bother me." Harry replied calmly.

* * *

"This feels weird." Neville commented as he examined his newly altered hands. A mouth could be seen on each of his hands.

"Alright. Let's see if I did this right." Harry was standing across him, having finished his own alterations.

He doubled over then raised his head up and opened his mouth impossibly wide. Two hands emerged from within, and they began to stretch and drag the skin down until Harry emerged, covered in some sort of clear fluid the other two did NOT want to know the nature of, but otherwise no different.

"Damn, that took out half my chakra. I guess I'll need to be careful when I use it." Harry took his wand out and vanished the skin he had just shed.

"And I thought my idea was creepy." Neville sighed as he watched his now mouthed hands.

* * *

"My scouts found the entrance. It's in the second floor girl's lavatory. They saw a small red head open the entrance and go down." Harry approached his friends in the common room.

Just then, McGonagall walked in and told the Weasley brothers their sister had been taken to the Chamber.

"I thought you said she walked down on her own." Hermione asked as they rushed towards the Chamber.

"It's obvious she's being controlled somehow." Harry replied before he opened the entrance.

"Alright, once we get in, you guys rush to the sides and conceal yourselves. I'll go forward and see what's going on here." Harry instructed them. The large door to the Chamber opened, and the three ninja rushed inside.

At the far end, under the statue of Salazar Slytherin lay a small girl. Harry remembered her name was Ginny or something similar.

When he reached her, a second person walked out the shadows.

"You're Voldemort?" Harry scoffed.

"You seem to know a lot more than you appear, boy." The tall boy lost his smile and gave him a glare.

"The only thing I couldn't figure out was how." Harry admitted.

"Simple. The diary. This foolish girl had been writing in it for months. Slowly, I grew strong enough to influence her and then take control completely. Ginny's life is almost gone, and with it, I will be restored." The teenage Voldemort sneered.

"Where's your little pet? You better call it before I kill you again." Harry smirked as Voldemort shot him a nasty glare.

"It's your funeral, Potter." He spat and turned to the statue. "Speak to me Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four."

The statue of the mouth began to open, and something began to slither out of it.

Harry retreated quickly backwards, gave a signal to Neville and closed his eyes, relying on his other senses to guide him.

The towering form of the basilisk emerged, staring hungrily at the small boy before it.

Before it could strike, a small white bird flew from behind a pillar and towards it. Acting on instinct, the huge reptile snapped its jaws over it.

"Goodbye." Harry whispered as Neville formed a single sign.

The basilisk's eyes widened for a moment before its head exploded, showering the room with blood and gore.

"How?" Voldemort howled in rage as the huge carcass slammed into the floor.

"You didn't think I came here alone, did you?" Harry grinned as his friends stepped forward.

"Now, let's get rid of you as well." Harry picked up the diary. Voldemort tried to stop him, but found himself held back by two very strong twelve year olds.

"Fuuton: Wind Sword." Harry formed the blade and tossed the diary upwards. With expert precision, he swung his hand and cut the small book in two.

A fountain of ink burst from the two halves as Voldemort gave an unearthly shriek as his form began to dissolve.

Neville picked up Ginny while Hermione cast a mild sleeping spell on her.

Just outside of the Chamber, however, they met a most unwelcome face. Lockhart was standing there, grinning like a lunatic and pointing his wand at them.

"Good show, you three. I knew following you down here would pay off. This will be my greatest book yet. Just one minor detail remains. Your memories of all this." The man smirked as he prepared to cast a spell.

Then, he paled and let the wand clatter to the ground. The killing intent from the trio was suffocating him. He couldn't even manage a shiver.

"Think you can manage a memory charm?" Harry turned to Hermione.

"I'll probably mess it up, but in his case, I don't seem to care. At least now we know how he did all those things in his books." She approached the whimpering man and hit him with the memory charm.

"Hello. Where are we, and who are we again?" The man blinked after several moments.

"I think you overdid it." Neville grinned.

"I guess I did." Hermione hit him with a sleeping spell as well and Harry picked him up.

"We'll leave them in the entrance hall. Let Lockhart take all the glory." Harry turned to his friends who nodded.

"That was exciting, even if I didn't do much." Hermione grinned as they retreated to their usual place in the RoR.

"Yeah, I didn't expect a single C-1 bird to do that much damage. Gran would be so proud if she knew." Neville grinned widely.

"Not just her, Neville. Your parents would be too." Harry smiled at the boy. Neville had told them what happened to his parents, and it had only brought them closer. In way, Harry felt he was better off. To see your parents still alive but not even able to recognize their son must be pure torture for Neville.

* * *

The school was ablaze with the news of Ginny's heroic rescue by Lockhart, who had sadly lost most of his memory by the experience. The sole clue to the true culprit were two halves of a small diary found in Lockhart's pocket.

"We'll meet again in Diagon Alley, right?" Hermione asked as they parted on the station in London.

"Of course. Until then, guys." Harry parted ways again, meeting with his uncle just outside.


	7. Chapter 7

Again, I was surprised how quickly I managed to get this out. Enjoy.

**Chapter 7**

Harry watched at the news report in confusion. It was a warning to the public about a dangerous escaped convict named Sirius Black.

"Hold on, they didn't say where that maniac escaped from. He could be down the street for all we know." Vernon shouted.

Harry was feeling confused. Sirius Black was mentioned as a member of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black in his book on magical families. However, the book didn't say much about him other than him being the only Black in Gryffindor.

"By the way, aunt Petunia, I need you to sign this." Harry handed her the permission slip for Hogsmeade visits. The woman seemed reluctant, but signed it quickly.

"Harry, my sister will be coming today." Vernon began nervously. His sister Marge hated Harry, and took great pleasure in making him miserable.

"Don't think I'll roll over and be a good boy just because she's here. This time, if she pushes me, I'll push back." Harry said coldly.

"I see. What will it take for you to play along?" Vernon hated being forced to beg like this, but he couldn't help it.

"Let me see…" Harry made some mental calculations.

"An even two thousand will cover it." Vernon's eyes bulged at that. Why the hell did he need so much money?

"That's a bit much." Vernon tried to negotiate.

"That's my offer, take it or leave it. Besides, if you buy your son just one present this Christmas, you won't blow your budget with this." Harry was enjoying himself.

"Fine. I'll pay you once Marge leaves." Vernon ignored Dudley's protests. Instead, he went out the room to get dressed to pick up his sister.

* * *

The following week was a true test for Harry's self control. Marge went above and beyond the line of duty to criticize Harry as often and as harsh as possible.

Fortunately for the obese woman, Harry managed to endure the week without lashing out.

The moment Vernon and Marge were away to the train station, however, both Petunia and Dudley were frozen with fear when Harry growled loudly and punched a hole trough the brick wall.

"I feel much better now." Harry collected himself and walked back to his room.

"Is the blob gone, master?" Acheron had given Marge a most amusing nickname.

"Yes. I should have asked for more money. Two thousand is not worth dealing with that bitch for a day, let alone a whole week." Harry hissed coldly.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Vernon." Harry grinned as he pocketed the large stack of notes.

"What are you doing with that kind of money anyway?" Vernon was curious.

"Just need to buy some supplies and I don't want to spend my own money for it." Harry answered.

"You have your own money?" Vernon was shocked. They were never told about that.

"Yeah. My dad came from a very old magical family. My liquid assets are around eight hundred thousand galleons." Harry grinned, waiting for the punch line.

"How much is that in normal money?" Vernon's beady eyes shone with greed.

"It's roughly three pounds to the galleon." Harry grinned as his uncle's eyes practically glowed.

"Don't bother, Vernon. Only magical people can access a magical bank." Harry enjoyed crushing the man's little dream.

"I'll be leaving a bit earlier than usual this time. Me and my friends decided to hang around in London for a bit." Harry said before he walked away.

* * *

"So, what else do you need?" Harry turned to his friends as they had concluded their shopping trip. The bookstore owner was so grateful when Hermione told him how to calm the Monster book of Monsters that he gave them their books for free.

"I wanted to buy a pet. You two have one, so I thought I should get one as well." Hermione smiled.

"Well, Acheron is more of a familiar than a pet. So, have you decided what you're getting? I'd recommend a pet fish, but then again, you're buying a pet, not a boyfriend." Harry grinned and Neville snickered at that.

Throwing jabs about her appearance never got old for those two.

"Very funny. Will you please cut it out with the fish jokes?" She snapped.

"Oh, alright. We'll be as silent as a cod." Neville's comment sent the boys into another round of giggles.

"Harry, I want you to loan me two thousand galleons." Hermione's sudden words caused Harry to stop in his tracks.

"Whatever for? And how the hell do you expect to repay me? You're not exactly asking for loose change." Harry frowned. Hermione was not so abrupt usually, but he guessed the jokes got her a bit riled up.

"I need to commission a sword. I already asked the goblins, and the design will cost that much. And, I've been thinking that we could make this a long term loan." She replied and turned to him with pleading eyes.

"Hermione, you're my friend. Of course I'll help you out. You can repay me in small payments when you can. Now, we came here for a pet, remember?" Harry reminded her.

Hermione walked out the pet store with a large ginger cat.

"Only a girl would buy something that repulsive." Neville whispered.

"We're not the ones to judge, considering our choices." Harry reminded him.

* * *

By the time they reached the train, there was only one compartment left with enough space, so the trio pushed inside, ignoring the ragged man sleeping inside.

They didn't speak much, seeing they were not alone. Hermione was petting her new cat as she read a book, Neville was playing with a lump of clay, forming different figures, though obviously not as fast as he was really capable, and Harry was carefully examining the seal diagrams Hermione had given him for her new sword.

It was dark when the train suddenly began to slow down then stopped completely.

"We're not there yet. Why did we stop?" Hermione frowned as the lights went out. Quickly, they had their wands out and lit.

The sleeping man that they learned was called R.J. Lupin from his briefcase had also awakened.

"Stay right here. I'll go talk to the driver." His voice was hoarse and rough, and Harry frowned as he caught his scent up close.

Before Lupin could open the compartment door, it opened on its own. A tall figure stood before them, wearing a tattered black hood. It drew a long rattling breath.

The trio felt a cold pass over them, but nothing else. The figure merely turned and floated away.

"I better go and talk to the driver. Stay here." Lupin told them and rushed away.

"Was that a Dementor?" Hermione whispered.

"I guess so. Good thing our minds are shadowed, right?" Harry whispered. He had read about the creatures. They had the ability to drain you of your happy memories and bring forth your painful memories to torment you. It seemed their ability didn't work if they couldn't find your memories.

"Don't get too confident. Those things are very dangerous." Harry reminded them.

* * *

Dumbledore added a warning about the Dementors as well during the Sorting feast, as well as introduced two new teachers. Lupin for DADA and Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures.

The next day, after sending Kage Bunshin to their first Arithmancy class so they could get some more time for morning workouts, they went out for their Magical Creatures class.

Hagrid was a good friend of theirs, even if they rarely spent time together, since the trio was very busy trying to learn two complex and detailed arts at the same time. In fact, they often took headache potions when one of them got a migraine because they absorbed too many Kage Bunshin at once.

"Alright, now, everyone open your books to page thirty-eight." Thanks to Hermione's tip, the students knew how to handle the aggressive books.

"Hippogriffs." Hermione whispered as she read from her book.

"Hagrid is starting big, I see. Neville, stay close to the Slytherin students, especially Malfoy. I don't want Hagrid to get in trouble because of their dumb plots." Harry whispered to his friend while they waited for Hagrid to retrieve the hippogriffs.

"Now, the most important thing you have to remember is that hippogriffs are very proud creatures. Never insult a hippogriff, it may well be the last thing you do. Now, to approach a hippogriff, first you bow to them. If they bow back, you can approach them. If they don't, well, you'd best get back quickly." Hagrid smiled lightly.

"Now, who wants to try?"

Immediately, Harry stepped forward. He approached one of the creatures confidently and gave it a respectful bow. The hippogriff followed moments later.

Emboldened by Harry's success, the rest of class followed suit.

Harry was observing Hermione making her own attempt, when a screech was heard and everyone turned to see Hagrid wrestle the same hippogriff Harry first approached while Neville was holding a very pale Draco by the back of his robes.

"I warned everyone not to insult hippogriffs, Mr. Malfoy. You could have been badly hurt if it hadn't been for Mr. Longbottom. Ten points from Slytherin. And take ten points for Gryffindor for your quick acting, Mr. Longbottom." Hagrid seemed to have lost his cheerfulness as he stared at the still shaking Malfoy.

* * *

"You think it would have killed him?" Neville asked once they left the class.

"Nah. A wild one might, but you could see Hagrid had them trained. He'd have gotten a nasty gash, but nothing serious. Just enough to teach him a lesson." Harry shrugged.

"I doubt it would have sunk in. Malfoy's arrogance is his biggest weakness." Hermione added.

"True. Personally, I'm looking forward to our first DADA class. Professor Lupin looks competent for a change." Neville changed the subject.

"I guess a person with his condition has to be to get around." Harry shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Hermione hated it when Harry got all mysterious.

"Well, ever since I made those changes to myself, I've gotten a bit more than I bargained for. You could say I'm a bit more snake like than I expected. First, my hearing is a bit sharper, I can see in infrared if I push chakra to my eyes, and lastly, my sense of smell is a lot sharper. Well, I say smell, but snakes actually detect scents with their tongue." Harry explained.

"What's this got to do with professor Lupin?" Neville was surprised his friend had changed so much. Hermione's craving for raw fish didn't seem so bad all of a sudden.

"Well, when he passed by me on the train, I could taste it on him. Lycanthropy. He's a werewolf." This surprised the other two.

"Aren't they dangerous creatures?" Hermione whispered.

"Only when they transform, and even then, only to humans. I doubt he's a bad man, and the only reason I told you is because you're my friends." Harry turned back to look at them.

"You're right, of course. Besides, I doubt he'd be able to harm us, even as a werewolf." Neville grinned.

* * *

"Alright class, today we'll be dealing with a boggart. Who can tell me what a boggart is?" Lupin had led them all to the staff lounge for their first class.

"A shapeshifting creature that takes the shape of what it might scare you the most." Hermione replied quickly.

"Excellent. Now everyone, form a line." Somehow, Harry ended up at the front of the line. Harry noticed Lupin was uncomfortable with this, but sent him a look that asked the man not to interfere.

Lupin nodded lightly and waved his wand, unlocking the wardrobe containing the creature.

A faint tinkling of a bell could be heard as a strange figure emerged from the wardrobe. It wore a long black robe with red clouds on it. A large straw hat with paper ribbons that hung from the rim concealed the face. Two bells hung from a string on the hat.

Everyone was confused. How was that scary?

Then, slowly, the figure removed its hat, and everyone froze in terror. The face was of Harry, but a very different Harry. The skin was pasty white, contrasted by long smooth black hair. The eyes were beyond creepy. Framed by purple markings were two slit green eyes that radiated malice.

The figure gave a creepy laugh as an impossibly long tongue snaked out of its mouth and licked its lips.

"Riddikulus." Harry waved his wand and the figure was now wearing a pink ballerina outfit.

"You look good in pink, Harry." Hermione whispered, but Harry did not comment.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione and Neville cornered him in the corridor.

"Is that what I'm becoming?" He whispered.

"Of course not, Harry. You're not evil, and you could never be. Creepy as hell, but not evil." Hermione said firmly.

"Thanks guys. I guess I'm just being silly." Harry grinned lightly.

* * *

"Please, take a seat, Harry. I daresay you surprised me with that boggart. I still can't understand why it took that particular shape." Lupin grinned.

"We all have our little secrets, professor. I doubt Wolfsbane potion tastes good." Harry threw a look at a smoking goblet, and Lupin paled at that.

"I hope you won't hold that against me." Lupin spoke carefully.

"Don't worry. You're not really dangerous most of the time, and that helps with the rest. Now, was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about, professor?" Harry grinned.

"I merely wanted to meet you. I was a friend of your father's. Back in the day, we were inseparable." Lupin grinned at the memory.

"You were his best friend?" Harry, despite diligent research, knew very little about his parents.

"No. We were close, but his closest friend was Sirius Black." Lupin spat the name like a curse. That was a big surprise to Harry.

"I see. Thank you for telling me this, professor." Harry whispered and walked away. Things were starting to fall into place, and a plan began to hatch into Harry's mind.

* * *

That Halloween, the Gryffindor students had gotten a very nasty surprise after the feast. It seemed Sirius Black had tried to force his way inside the tower and had attacked the portrait guarding it when she refused to let him in without the password.

"I know that look, Harry. What are you planning?" Hermione turned towards Harry once they were in the Great Hall. With everyone talking, they could speak without concern.

"We're going to capture Black the next time he tries to get in the tower." Harry informed them.

"Harry, why risk our lives going after that madman?" Neville whispered.

"I found out a few things. Black is the reason Voldemort got to my family twelve years ago. He was my dad's best friend and he sold him out." Harry hissed angrily.

"Alright. We're in." Neville nodded firmly.

* * *

However, after his initial failure, Black seemed to be biding his time. Harry also got quite a surprise when during Christmas, along with the gifts of his two friends; he also received a brand new Firebolt broomstick.

"Who would send something so expensive and not even leave a card with it?" Neville frowned. There was something fishy with the broom.

"There's nothing wrong with it. Only the usual type of enchantments. Whoever sent me this is not an enemy, although, I agree it's a bit suspicious." Harry stashed the broom in his trunk. He loved flying, but the school brooms were in bad shape so he rarely indulged himself. Perhaps now he could enjoy it more.

* * *

Another week had passed, but there was still no sign of Black.

"I think we need to give him some help. We're going to write down the dorm passwords and leave them in the library. It's a long shot, but it might work. Coupled with the Kage Bunshin and snakes combing the castle, we might just get lucky." Harry was getting irritated at the lack of success in his hunt for Black.

It seemed Harry's long shot idea had borne fruit. Sirius Black was moving determined towards his objective, when his body suddenly refused to move. He looked down to see snakes wrapped around his body. The last thing he saw before he blacked out were a pair of shining green eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

Here comes the next part of the story, and with it, the end of book 3. Again, my deviation from canon has led me to merely gloss over the book, but the next books will be taken in greater detail in the next chapter. Anyway, I hope you like the ending. I know I did.

**Chapter 8**

"He's waking up. You two get in position." Sirius heard a young voice speak. He opened his eyes and found himself stuck inside some strange container covered with strange writing. Two children were sitting in front of him in large circles of the same strange writing, holding their right hand up towards him.

"Where am I?" Sirius was nervous. If they had captured him, why didn't they hand him over to the Dementors?

"No talking. We're going to go trough your mind. You betrayed my parents, and I'm going to find out why." Before Sirius could say a thing, a hand touched his head and he passed out again.

"I think we went too far back." Hermione commented as they watched the memory of a very young Sirius being punished by his mother.

"It can't be helped. His mind is in shambles from the Dementors. If we want to find anything in this mess, we'll have to string it all back together." Harry observed the chaos that was Black's mind.

"That could take a whole day on its own, not to mention the time it will take to find the relevant memories." Neville complained.

"Then we better start now. I need to know, Neville." Harry said with a sigh.

As they worked on Black's mind, they caught glimpses of the man's memories.

His first trip to Hogwarts, meeting James Potter, the Sorting, and his mother's Howler afterwards, the forming of the Marauders.

The discovery of Lupin's condition, learning how to become animagi, the numerous pranks pulled over their years.

At last, they came near their objective. The wedding of Harry's parents and Harry's birth.

* * *

Then they found the critical memory.

"Dumbledore has recommended we hide under the Fidelius charm. Voldemort is getting too close with his attacks." The memory was seen trough Sirius's eyes. He was talking to Harry's father.

"And you want me to be your Secret Keeper, right?" Sirius smiled at his friend.

"You're my best friend and Harry's godfather. Who else would I choose?" James smiled back.

"I'd be honored, but I'm too obvious as a choice, James. Perhaps, if we told everyone I was the Secret Keeper, but used someone else instead, you'd be even safer." Sirius suggested.

"I trust you won't betray us, Sirius." James said firmly.

"You know I would rather die than sell you out. But Voldemort is not someone to mess with. If he manages to get the secret out of me…" Sirius spoke with a grave tone. "With my plan, even if they get to me, the real Secret Keeper will be safe."

The memory shifted to show Harry's parents performing the Fidelius with a short fat man. The previous memories identified him as Peter Pettigrew.

Again, the memory changed to show Sirius confronting Peter in a street in London. Before Sirius could attack, the street exploded and Peter had disappeared.

* * *

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione stood up once they had ended the ritual.

"I need some time alone." Harry whispered. "Keep an eye on him, and perhaps, get him some food."

* * *

"The stars are beautiful tonight, aren't they?" Harry was broken from his thoughts by a dreamy voice. He was on top of the Astronomy tower looking to clear his head.

He turned around and saw a girl a bit younger than him with long blond hair. Her eyes gave her a strange surprised look. Harry also caught sight of her unusual accessories. She had a pair of radish earrings and a necklace made from buterbeer caps.

"Indeed they are." Harry smiled lightly.

"You seem troubled, Harry Potter." The girl sat down next to him.

"You have me at a disadvantage, miss…" Harry looked at her expectantly.

"Luna Lovegood. A pleasure to meet you. You know it's after curfew, right?" She smiled.

"I could say the same to you. What are you doing up here?" He asked her.

"I've been looking for nargles." She shrugged. Harry's eyebrow rose a bit but did not comment.

"And, did you find any?" Harry asked with a smile.

"I'm afraid not. Perhaps I was looking in the wrong place." She sighed.

"Don't give up. I'm sure you'll find some eventually. I need to get going, but perhaps we can meet again sometime." Harry stood up.

"I'd like that." The girl said dreamily and returned her gaze towards the Forbidden forest.

* * *

"Feeling better?" Hermione asked once he walked in. She was currently giving Sirius a haircut. He was already clean and shaved.

"Much better. I met a most unusual girl on the Astronomy tower." Harry smiled at the memory.

"So, getting a girlfriend already?" Sirius grinned at him.

"I just met her. How are you feeling?" Harry sat across him.

"Embarrassed. Three kids got the better of me. I'm supposed to be a really dangerous escaped convict." Sirius said with mock sadness.

"Get over it. We're a lot tougher than we look. Now, on to business. Where is Pettigrew?" In response, Sirius handed him an old newspaper clipping.

"Weasley? Damn, the rat vanished a week ago. I'll tell my scouts to look for him, but don't get your hopes up." Harry sighed.

"So, what do we do now?" Sirius stood up and used Hermione's wand to clean his head of any leftover hair.

"You can stay here for a few days while we wait for my scouts to find a trail. If they find nothing in a week, we assume the vermin has split from the castle." Harry replied.

"Harry, are you sure you can trust him with everything?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"He's my godfather. Like he said, he'd sooner die than betray me." Harry smiled.

* * *

"You're going down, Harry." Hermione smirked as Harry ducked under the swing of a huge sword wrapped in bandages.

"Dream on, fish-breath." Harry grinned as he parried her next swing with a blade coming out of his mouth. He swung his head around and dashed forward to impale her. Hermione gasped when the blade skewered her, only for her body to dissolve into water that drenched Harry.

A shadow loomed over the still overextended Harry as the real Hermione appeared with her sword raised high.

"Got you." She smirked.

"Got who?" She was surprised when she felt cold steel on her throat. She sighed when the Harry before her burst into smoke.

"I didn't even sense you." She said glumly.

"Your Kawarimi is improving rapidly. That switch with a water clone was masterfully done." Harry cheered her up.

"Hey guys, I finally managed to create an explosive clone." Two Neville's approached them.

"It won't blow up on us, right? I expect it will be a lot stronger than the C-1 stuff." Hermione eyed the clone carefully.

"Don't worry; it needs to eat some extra clay before it goes critical. Anyway, I only need to work on the C-4 type now." Neville grinned.

"We're slowly getting there, guys. We just need combat experience." Harry knew that no matter how hard they trained, until they used those skills in real life against real people, they would never truly advance.

* * *

"Any luck?" Sirius asked a week later. The things he had seen the trio do were breathtaking, even for a wizard.

"None. My snakes had hunted down dozens of rats, but none fit the description. I think it's safe to assume he had left Hogwarts. Perhaps you should do so too. Be careful, you're still a hunted man." Harry replied.

"Don't worry. There's still some fight left in this old dog. This week with you has helped me a great deal. And, it was good to meet you at last." Sirius hugged him.

"You'll tell Moony the truth?" Sirius asked before he left.

"First thing in the morning. And thanks for the map." Harry grinned. Sirius had told them how to remake the Marauder's Map he and his friends had made in their school days. The original Sirius told them was confiscated by Filch the caretaker, but they did not find it when they raided his office, which told them it was either destroyed or taken by someone.

It was their last ditch attempt to find Pettigrew, but even with it, they failed to locate the traitor.

* * *

"Professor Lupin, may I have a word with you?" Harry approached the man after their final exams.

"I have a free period right now." The man led him to his office.

"I'll be direct. Do you notice anything unusual on this picture?" Harry handed him the newspaper Sirius had.

"This is the Weasley family, but… It can't be…" Lupin gasped and dropped the paper when he saw a very familiar rat on Ron's shoulder.

"Where did you get this?" Lupin gave Harry a sharp look.

"A dog gave it to me." This time, Lupin paled.

"What? How?"

"The thing you need to know right now is that he was not the traitor. It was the rat all along." This caused the man to sag.

"This is too much. Where is Peter now?" Lupin jumped up.

"Gone. The bastard ran away. Must have realized we're on to him, or didn't want to wait and risk it. Either way, there's nothing we can do until he shows himself. Padfoot is off too, drawing the Ministry away from the castle. He left this note for you if you want to meet with him." Harry handed him a small piece of parchment.

"Thank you, Harry. This means a lot to me. We'll get him, I promise." Lupin said firmly.

"I know. On a more cheerful note, perhaps you'd like to see what the old dog helped us make?" Harry handed him a folded piece of parchment.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Lupin grinned as he tapped the parchment.

"Mr. Snake, Mr. Artist and Ms. Shark would like to present the Rogue's Map to Mr. Moony and hope it meets his approval." Lupin read with a smile.

"The Rogues, huh? Since I'm still a teacher, I'll pretend I never saw this item. Mischief managed." Lupin erased the map with a huge grin.

"You may want to be in the Great Hall tomorrow. We're planning something big to announce our presence to the castle." Harry smirked evilly.

* * *

"I expected the teachers to be here already." Percy Weasley, the Head Boy commented on the empty spots on the staff table.

As if waiting for someone to ask that question, loud music began to echo trough the hall. The muggleborn recognized it quickly as a song from the Wizard of Oz.

The fun didn't stop there. The door opened and McGonagall skipped in, dressed as Dorothy. Filch followed as the scarecrow, Flitwick followed briskly as the lion, and lastly, Snape clanked in as the tin man.

Everyone stared in shock as the group was singing along to the song.

They stopped in front of the staff table, where Dumbledore suddenly appeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Who is it that stands before the great and almighty Oz?" Dumbledore peered down at them.

The group played their parts expertly, and just as the scene finished, bright letters appeared above the staff table.

"Staged for your enjoyment by the Rogues of Hogwarts."

"You wouldn't know anything about these Rogues, Harry?" The Weasley twins had joined them for the way back.

"Only that I want to buy them a drink. When Snape asked for a heart, I thought I would explode." Harry laughed. The man was spitting acid once the genjutsu on them ended. Flitwick and Dumbledore were the only ones that seemed to enjoy the prank.

"It will be hard to beat that prank, Harry." Hermione grinned once they were alone.

"We'll think of something. After all, we have to surpass the Marauders." Harry grinned widely.


	9. Chapter 9

Here is the next part of the chapter, and with it, I've also started the Harry/Luna pairing that you all voted for. It will develop slowly, so don't expect any romance too soon. A new prank is also present, as well as an evil partnership.

**Chapter 9**

"Should we do something?" Hermione turned to Harry as they watched the havoc in the campsite after the Quidditch world cup.

Both Harry and Neville had decided that since Britain was hosting the cup, it was too good an opportunity to pass up, and naturally, invited Hermione with them as well.

However, it seemed certain people had different ideas of after-game celebrations. A small group dressed as Death Eaters had begun to cause mayhem throughout the campsite.

"Too crowded. I doubt they'll cause too much trouble. Let's go." As one, the trio put their hands together and shimmered out of view.

* * *

"Hello, Harry." Just as the trio got in their compartment, a voice was heard from the door.

"Luna. Won't you join us?" Harry smiled as the odd girl walked inside.

"Thank you." She sat next to Harry, who introduced her to the others.

Not being able to talk about their skills around Luna, they instead talked about the World Cup, which slowly shifted to the Quibbler, the paper Luna's dad was publishing, and from it, to a series of strange creatures that Luna adamantly claimed were real.

"That girl makes no sense whatsoever. Where does she come up with all that nonsense?" Hermione, as a strictly logical person was deeply annoyed by Luna's claims.

"She's not so bad. True, she's odd, but since when is that bad?" Harry shrugged.

After the feast, Dumbledore announced that this year, Hogwarts would be hosting the Triwizard tournament, a legendary competition between the three European schools that was discontinued centuries ago. It seemed they had managed to revive it again.

"It would be interesting if one of us managed to enter, huh?" Neville grinned at his friends.

"The experience would be useful, but there's too much exposure. We might end up revealing more than we'd like." Harry sighed.

* * *

Their first DADA class with their new teacher, a retired Auror called Mad-Eye Moody turned out to be most informative.

"Seeing that brought back too many bad memories." Neville whispered. Seeing the curse that broke his parent's mind was indeed a painful reminder.

"I did notice something about the Killing Curse. Moody was gathering raw killing intent before he cast it. I wonder what the curse would be like with focused killing intent." Harry stood up as a target made of pure stone appeared on the far end.

"Avada Kedavra." A green ball shot from his wand, obliterating the target.

"Wow." Neville whispered.

"It seems the more focused the intent, the stronger the spell. That's good to know." Harry mused.

"You should be careful. Those curses are illegal for a reason." Hermione reminded him.

"I know, I know. I'm not about to use it in the open. It's just something that might come in handy at some point." Harry shrugged. "Now, let's start working on a new prank. This time, we'll use a wide area genjutsu to affect the students instead of the teachers."

"But that means we'll have to trap ourselves as well." Hermione remarked.

"If we want to avoid suspicion. I have an idea…" Harry grinned.

* * *

The next day, just as the last student walked in for breakfast, a huge amount of smoke burst throughout the hall.

When it cleared, the teachers stood in shock at the sight before them. On one side, the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables were full of students wearing medieval Scottish uniforms, and on the other, the Slytherin and Hufflepuff tables were wearing English uniforms of the same age.

"For freedom." Harry, his face painted with blue markings, grabbed a handful of Yorkshire pudding and lobbed it across the room, hitting Malfoy right in the face.

"Get the Scottish dogs." Malfoy yelled back, and pretty soon, the hall was full of flying food.

Again, the students came too several minutes later, and again, a message from the Rogues appeared.

The prank was the talk of the school for several days, as the genjutsu allowed the ones caught in it to see what was going on without being able to stop it.

* * *

The next DADA class was far more interesting. Moody had informed them he would be using the Imperius curse on them to give them a taste of how it felt.

Having trained their minds just as hard as their bodies, Harry and his friends resisted the curse easily, much to Moody's delight.

"Who do you think will be the Hogwarts champion?" Seamus turned to Harry who shrugged in response.

The Durmstrang champion was announced as Victor Krum, an international Quidditch star from Bulgaria. His recent performance during the finals of the World Cup was still discussed in the castle.

The Beauxbatons was Fleur Delacour; a rather attractive girl that people speculated had veela blood in her.

The Hogwarts champion was Cedric Diggory, a seventh year Hufflepuff that many of the girls found quite attractive.

Then, everyone fell silent as a fourth slip of paper emerged from the Goblet of Fire, the artifact choosing the champions.

"Harry Potter." Dumbledore read.

"So, someone might be trying to kill you?" Hermione asked once they were alone again.

"That certainly is a possibility. This tournament is dangerous, at least for the average witch or wizard. However, that is only one possibility. Unfortunately, we don't have any more information to anticipate other options." Harry sighed.

"What are you going to do, then?" Neville asked.

"Train my ass off, of course." Harry smirked.

* * *

The next day, Harry was dragged out of Potions for the weighing of the wands ceremony.

A blond woman was talking to one of the judges as he walked in. The man introduced her as Rita Skeeter, a reporter for the Daily Prophet.

"Do you mind if I have a quick word with you, Harry?" The woman smiled sweetly.

"Yes. I don't give interviews." Harry said shortly. The woman huffed, but Harry remained tight-lipped around her.

* * *

The days until the first task passed quickly. The school's opinion of Harry had sunk to an all-time low, but since Harry paid little mind to the opinion of those he was not acquainted to, it didn't bother him. What did bother him was the revelation that he would be facing a dragon during the first task.

The task began, with Harry going last against a Hungarian Horntail. As he waited for his turn, he listened to the commentaries echoing from the arena as he tried to keep his mind calm. This was the first real test for his skills, and he was determined to do well.

People cheered as Harry walked out, head kept low. The dragon noticed him and gave a mighty roar as it advanced at him. Then, Harry raised his head and the dragon froze into place.

The crowd fell silent as the stare-off continued. Then, Harry took a step forward, and to everyone's amazement, the dragon stepped back.

Harry walked forward calmly, getting closer to the large nest where his objective lay.

The dragon growled again when he got close to the eggs, but another glare sent it back.

Harry picked up the golden egg that he was supposed to get and walked back out of the arena. The dragon made no attempt to pursue him; instead it curled up around the nest.

"That was impressive, Harry. It was so strong even we felt it." Hermione commended him on the fact that he subdued the dragon with pure killing intent alone.

"It was also very difficult. It's not really meant to be released for so long." Harry yawned, feeling a headache starting to form.

* * *

"So, who are you going to take to the Yule Ball, Harry?" Hermione asked while in the common room. Harry noticed a lot of people around him seemed interested in his reply. Ever since his spectacular win during the first task, his reputation had soared to new heights.

"I haven't asked anyone yet, but I already have someone in mind. Either way, you'll have to wait until the ball to find out. What about you, Neville asked you yet?" Harry smirked as his two friends blushed lightly.

"Seems as good a moment as any. Hermione, will you come with me to the ball?" Neville asked. Hermione nodded happily, but did not speak.

* * *

Slowly, the day of the ball approached, and while Neville stayed behind to escort Hermione down to the ball, Harry left to get his date, telling them the mysterious girl was not a Gryffindor.

At last, the champions entered the Great Hall with their dates.

Cedric was first, accompanied by Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker, followed by Fleur with Roger Davies the Ravenclaw team captain. Krum was next with a Slytherin seventh year, and finally, Harry with a witch wearing a sparkling pale silver dress.

"He asked Luna?" Hermione managed to keep her voice down; although it was clear she wasn't happy about his choice.

"You dance divinely, Harry. I am really happy you asked me to come with you." Luna smiled dreamily as they sat down after the opening dance.

"Don't mention it. You know, I've never met someone quite like you." Harry grinned.

"In what way?" Luna cocked her head to the side.

"You're so different than everybody else. I like it when people go against the flow. Would you like to dance again?" Harry noticed Hermione approaching, so he stood up and held his hand to Luna, who giggled and followed him to the dance floor.

The next day, the Daily Prophet published a rather scathing story about Harry's relationship with Luna, claiming the odd girl had somehow bewitched him.

Luna's dad did not take this quietly, and dedicated a full issue in the defense of his daughter's honor.

"They are really blowing things out of proportion with all this." Harry sighed as he read the papers. Luna had come over and handed him the Quibbler.

"Well, your father was right to publish this. I doubt he was happy when his rival paper started calling his daughter a harlot." Hermione smiled lightly at the girl.

"Yeah, I got a letter with the Quibbler, and he was raving mad about the Prophet. He's also happy you asked me, Harry. I think he really likes you." She giggled as Harry blushed lightly.

"Well, people are overreacting, considering we're not even dating." Harry's words were quickly spread around the hall.

"Give it time, Harry. After all, I've got you in my evil clutches now. I'm not letting you get away." Harry laughed loudly at that.

"That's what I like about you, Luna." Harry finally calmed down.

"Well, jokes aside, I'm not looking for a girlfriend at this time. Although, you're my top choice so far." Luna blushed lightly at the compliment while several girls shot her a nasty glare.

* * *

"Alright you three, we need to talk." The trio was ambushed by Fred and George just as they walked out of the RoR after a training session.

"Get in, then." Harry had turned the room in a replica of the Gryffindor common room.

"What sort of place is this?" Fred gazed at the room in wonder.

"A secret one. I'll ask you not to tell anyone about it. Now, what do you want to talk about?" Harry sat across from them.

"You're the Rogues, am I right?" George asked with a grin.

"I don't know how you came to that conclusion, but it's false." Harry said calmly.

"You might be able to fool others, Harry, but not us. We know you guys are sneaking around all over the castle, and furthermore, we've seen you in several places at once on more than one occasion." Fred said smugly.

"There's no way you'd have been… Unless, you have the Marauder's Map." Harry's eyes showed an epiphany.

"How do you know about that?" The twins were surprised.

"This is the Rogue's Map. Padfoot helped us make it." Harry pulled a piece of parchment from his robe. But it was his words that shocked the twins.

"You know Padfoot? What about the rest of them?" Fred asked eagerly.

"I know who they all are. Well, Wormtail is no longer considered part of the group, traitorous rat that he is. To make a long story short, Prongs was my dad, Moony is professor Lupin, and Padfoot is Sirius Black." Harry enjoyed seeing the glazed looks the twins were showing.

"You actually met with Sirius Black?" George whispered.

"Yeah. Turned out he was innocent of the whole thing. So, now that you guys know the truth, how about a little partnership?" Harry grinned evilly. The twins took one look at each other then shook his hand with identical grins adorning their faces.


	10. Chapter 10

Here comes the next chapter, and with it the end of fourth year. Things will change a great deal starting with the next chapter, and expect a slightly darker tone to the story.

**Chapter 10**

It was the day of the second task, and ever since Harry had figured out the clue from the golden egg, he was in a foul mood for a simple reason. He hated swimming.

"It's not so bad, Harry. I wish I could go for a swim in the lake, but there are too many things that can see me down there." Hermione sighed.

"Easy for you to say. It's not like you can drown." Harry huffed.

"Don't worry, Harry, I've got you covered." Neville handed him a clump of some sort of tangled plant.

"Gillyweed. Enough to last you for more than an hour." The boy explained. Out of the three, he knew the most about magical herbs.

"Thanks, Neville. Have you seen Luna? She said she'd be here." Harry's eyes roamed the audience for his newest friend.

"I can't say that I have. I'm sure she'll turn up." Neville shrugged.

The water in the lake was cold, and for a few moments after he jumped in, Harry stood still, getting used to the changes wrought by the gillyweed and the sudden change in temperature. He cast a warming charm on himself and sped out towards the faint sound of singing.

Getting trough the lake was not an easy task, having to struggle trough large areas overrun with seaweed, and twice, he was assaulted by swarms of grindylows, but a quick dose of killing intent stopped the underwater pests from bothering him.

After what felt like forever, he reached the mermaid village at the bottom of the lake. In what looked like a square, he saw his objective. Four people were floating serenely, anchored to a statue.

Harry froze when he recognized one of them as Luna. His hand blurring into motion, a blade of wind cut the rope holding her with ease. Within minutes, they were at the surface, and Luna woke up the moment the air touched her face.

"That's a new look for you, Harry." She gestured to the gills on his neck and his webbed hands.

Harry grinned lightly and cast a warming charm on her as well and began swimming towards the platforms where everyone was watching.

They reached the platform with ten minutes to spare, and the crowd went wild.

"So, did you really miss me so much that you'd go into the lake to get me back?" Luna smiled dreamily at him.

"I just did, didn't I?" Harry grinned as his eyes caught a large beetle on Luna's hair. Getting a strange sensation about it, he conjured a jar, and before the bug could get away, Harry's hand was locked around it, and he had it inside the jar. He put a punctured lid on it and cast an unbreakable charm on the jar.

"What's that you got there, Harry?" Luna took the jar and looked at the beetle that was frantically running around the jar.

"A beetle. It looks interesting, doesn't it? I read about a charm that you can use to crystallize a bug and turn it into a decoration." Harry's eyebrow rose as the beetle tripled its efforts to find a way out.

"Oh, it would make a lovely broach, Harry." Luna gave him a wide smile.

"I'll see what I can do. Say, do you have any plans for the next Hogsmeade trip?" Harry said suddenly.

"Isn't the next trip on Valentine…?" Luna's eyes widened. "Falling for my charms, Mr. Potter?" She snuggled next to him.

"Perhaps a bit. We're still just friends, though. If I want to take it further, I'll let you know." Harry grinned back.

* * *

Again, Harry got full marks for this task as well, cementing his lead into the tournament by a large margin.

"What are you reading, Harry?" Hermione and Neville arrived in the RoR to see Harry reading a book for a change. Usually, Harry was busy working over a technique scroll or working on a technique.

"I'm reading about Animagi. Especially, the Animagus reversal spell." Harry gave a pointed look to the jar with the beetle he had caught this morning.

"You think that's an Animagus?" Neville stared curiously at the still beetle.

"It's too unusual to be anything else. The question is, who it is, and why were they on Luna's hair while I was talking to her?" Harry finally found the right spell and took his wand out. He opened the jar, and the beetle immediately tried to fly away, but again, Harry's quick hand caught it.

A quick spell later and Rita Skeeter appeared before them.

"Now this is a surprise. What do you think we should do now, Harry?" Neville grinned evilly at the clearly scared witch.

"No one knows she's here. I say we put a smile on her face and leave her for the Acromantula in the forest." Harry pulled out a kunai, making the woman pale like a sheet and back up against the wall.

In seconds, she fell apart, sobbing hysterically and begging them to spare her life.

"Spineless vermin. You should be grateful I'm doing this for you." Harry grabbed Rita and dragged her away to the sealing chamber.

"If you even flinch, I'll slit your throat." Harry took one of the brushes they used for painting seals.

"Take off your clothes." This time, Rita stopped her sobbing to give him a shocked and fearful look.

"I'm not going to rape you, damn it. Now do it before I change my mind about killing you." Harry gave her a bit of killing intent, and she immediately rushed to obey.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione watched as he painted the seals.

"I'm using Sasori's mind sealing. I'm basically locking away the memories of everything she saw today, as well as adding a few personality modifications." Harry explained as he put the finishing touches on the seal.

"I've studied that seal as well, and I know it's not this complex." Hermione commented.

"I'm using a double seal. I might need her in the future. Releasing the first seal will activate the second, and with it, a personality more open to writing what we tell her to." Harry grinned as he began making hand signs.

"That's cold, Harry, even for someone like her." Hermione shook her head.

"I won't make her risk her life for me, Hermione. I just don't like being spied upon." Harry shrugged and touched two fingers to Rita's forehead. The woman screamed and collapsed as the seals compressed on her forehead and faded from sight.

"Will you get her dressed? Have a Kage Bunshin take her out of the castle afterwards." Harry turned to Hermione.

"Sure. You'll spar with me tonight?" She asked hopefully.

"Can't. I already promised Neville. Tomorrow, alright?" Harry grinned. Ever since she hit puberty, Hermione was really turning violent.

* * *

That night, Harry's usually calm sleep was disturbed by a vision. He found himself in a decrepit old house, facing Wormtail.

The rat-like man had failed something, but someone else working for Voldemort managed to fix it. After telling Wormtail this, Voldemort proceeded to use the Cruciatus on the man. Sudden pain surged trough Harry forcing him awake.

This was the first time this had happened, and Harry was worried. He checked his mental protection carefully, finding a gap in the shadows he failed to close again. Frowning, he moved to examine the gap more carefully, tracing it to his scar.

"So, he really is alive. And apparently getting stronger as well." Neville frowned when Harry told them this the next day.

"He's not fully back yet. But yes, he's getting stronger, considering I couldn't close the connection between the scar and my mind. I think it would be wise to examine the scar more carefully." Harry replied.

"I didn't believe the results of the first scan, so I did them again, and even then, if I hadn't studied demon sealing, I doubt I'd have recognized it. There is a soul fragment lodged into the scar. That is what is keeping the connection open." Hermione informed them with a grim face.

"What do we do?" Harry did not like the sound of this. Souls, as he had read were tricky things, even if he didn't know it was possible to break a soul into pieces.

"Sealing it will prevent it from influencing you, but if we do, the fragment will remain with you, making it impossible to kill Voldemort. We must extract it, without damaging your own soul and magic in the process." Hermione explained.

"That will be tricky. One wrong move and you'll remove my magic, or worse, my whole soul." Harry tried to remain calm, but on the inside, he felt a panic attack approaching rapidly. The fragment had to be removed, but the risk was simply enormous.

"We'll focus on this. Until we get rid of the fragment, it takes precedence over all other projects." Neville gave the other two a firm look. They gave a nod in agreement.

"I'll tell the twins we'll have to delay the prank." Harry formed a clone and sent it to talk to the twins.

"We have a lot of work to do. Best get to it." The trio walked into the large library, working madly over the scrolls talking about sealing.

* * *

The complexity of the seal in question and the risk involved if they did something went wrong forced them to spend nearly all the time until the third task studying and calculating seal arrays.

Harry, who knew the most about seals, put himself under an enormous amount of pressure to get this done. Several times over the weeks, he had dozed off during class, thanks to him spending long hours into the night to work. He even mumbled seal calculations between snores.

"I think that should do it. We went over the calculations five times. It will work." Hermione tried to get her courage up as she and Neville were finishing the seal. The truth was, until they had done it, there was no way of knowing if it worked or not.

The seal activated, and Harry trashed wildly as the markings rushed towards and inside his scar. His suggestion for a gag turned out to be a good idea. He was clearly screaming his throat out, and they noticed his jaw clenched tightly against the thick piece of rubber stuck between his teeth.

After several minutes, a small green ball of emerged from the scar, wrapped in seal markings. The moment it was out, the markings vanished, and moments later, so did the ball. Harry stopped trashing, and appeared to be merely passed out.

"Is he alright?" Hermione asked as Neville began a medical scan.

A minute later, Neville let out a sigh of relief.

"He's fine, although his chakra is almost completely empty. He'll need several days before he's fit again." Neville told her, and Hermione too sagged against the wall.

"Thank god." She smiled in relief.

* * *

"How do you feel?" Harry awoke the next day, feeling like shit. Hermione handed him some warm tea, which helped greatly with his sore throat.

"Like shit. I'll have to thank Voldemort for that pleasant experience when I see him." Harry growled, but winced a moment later because of his sore throat.

"Well, you're lucky you're exempt from the exams and that you still have a couple of days until the third task. It would have been fun trying to pass it while suffering from chakra exhaustion." She laughed.

"Laugh all you want." Harry said calmly then released a short string of hisses.

"Hmm, there was a possibility I would have lost that ability. I'm glad that's not the case." Harry grinned.

"Only you would mourn the loss of Parseltongue." Hermione shook her head.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Harry was surprised when his familiar appeared only hours before the third task. Acheron had simply wandered away almost immediately after waking up from his usual winter hibernation and he hadn't seen him since.

"Looking for clues, master. I had learned much, but I wanted to confirm a few things before I came to you." The snake sounded pleased with himself.

"What have you learned?" Harry was curious now.

"The new adult here, the crippled one. I followed him many times in secret. Not just him, but it was his actions that aroused my suspicion." Harry frowned. He had no reason to doubt Acheron, but his words made him even more curious.

"He has snuck into the greasy man's stores several times, always taking the same ingredients, but I cannot say what, as he never spoke during those times. Then, I followed him to the forest. He met a man there and killed him. He changed his body to a bone and buried it there. He was talking to himself, saying how the man he had killed nearly ruined everything, and that it was lucky he found him first." Acheron finished.

"I see." Harry did not move for a few seconds. Then, he formed a Kage Bunshin and sent it to find Hermione and Neville and inform them of this new development.

"You've done well, Acheron. I'm going to buy you a whole box of tasty treats." Harry grinned as he watched the snake's eyes shine.

* * *

The third task was a maze, and the champions would go in order of points. Harry, as the one with the most, went in first with a significant head start from the other three. However, the maze was so complicated, that advantage meant very little.

Any other man would have felt intimidated in the tight corridors inside the tall hedge, especially in the dark, but Harry was not just anyone.

"This maze is easy. Far too easy." Harry frowned as he encountered little if any resistance during his progress.

The first major obstacle was a sphinx. For a moment, they observed each other. Harry could not help but admire the creature.

"Before you speak, I'd like to inform you this blade is coated with the venom of a red striped asp." Harry pulled out a hidden kunai that was practically soaked with the venom.

The sphinx took a long sniff, and judging from her expression, she realized he wasn't lying.

"One of my cousins died from such a snake." The sphinx said and walked away. Unlike most wizards, the creature could see that Harry was physically very fit, and more than capable of cutting it before it could kill him.

Harry's triumph as he seized the cup was broken as he felt his entire body getting pulled away, and he felt foolish when he realized the cup was a portkey. He landed roughly, tripping on something. He felt a sharp pain from the side of his head before his vision was filled with darkness.

* * *

Harry woke up by a sense of immense pain, and for a moment, he felt he was still suffering under the seal they used to remove Voldemort's soul from him. Then, the pain ended, and Harry's mind caught up with recent events.

He woke up, head throbbing painfully, to see a small crowd of masked and hooded figures, and in front of him, was the resurrected form of Lord Voldemort.

"Shit." Harry cursed as he struggled to get up. The maniac most likely used the Cruciatus to wake him up.

"Awake at last, Harry. Give him his wand, Wormtail. You have been taught how to duel, Harry?" Voldemort gave him an evil smile.

"I have. So, we shall see which one of us is the greater wizard, huh?" Harry eyed the man before him carefully, his right hand holding his wand tightly while his left was keeping very close to his hidden kunai holster.

"That is the plan." Voldemort grinned a bit.

"I have better things to do, I'm afraid." Voldemort barely managed to dodge the kunai heading for his head. When he returned his eyes back to Harry, he found the boy missing.

A sudden flash from his side brought his attention to where the discarded portkey that brought Harry here was. With a scream of rage, Voldemort realized his prey had escaped him.

Behind him, Lucius was carefully examining the small dagger that passed so close to his head it cut off a lock of his hair.

'Potter is more dangerous than I believed. So much poison would kill even the Dark Lord.'

* * *

Harry appeared on the Hogwarts grounds, and the adrenaline low and the effects of his recent concussion came forth in full force. He fell to his knees as the sounds of a crowd reached him, and he looked up to see he was back at the entrance of the maze.

Dumbledore approached him, as well as others from the crowd.

"What happened, Harry?" Dumbledore gave him a concerned look.

"Long story. I want to lie down first." Harry said weakly. Dumbledore nodded and lead him to the Hospital Wing.

Madam Pomfrey fixed the few cuts he had quickly, and gave him a potion for the concussion, which had the added effect of making him fall asleep.

"Headmaster, he's back." This was the last thing Harry said before he fell asleep.

* * *

"Glad to see you're still in one piece." Hermione and Neville came to visit the next day. Harry gave them a look, and Neville quickly formed a genjutsu to keep them undisturbed.

"Voldemort is back. If I hadn't bumped my head when that portkey landed, I might have been able to stop it. What did you guys learn?" Harry hoped his friends had more luck than he did.

"We caught Moody, only it turned out it wasn't Moody at all. It was Barty Crouch Jr. He was Voldemort's inside man all along. We left hints for Dumbledore to find the real Moody, while we've been interrogating Crouch. He was really hard to break, and I'm afraid by the time we got everything out of him he was too injured to stay alive." Hermione whispered the last part.

"I always thought I'd be the first to do it." Harry sighed. Despite the fact the man was the lowest scum; the fact that it was their actions that killed them hit the two teenagers hard.

"Yeah. We've talked about it, though. We'll be alright." Hermione smiled lightly.

"I'm afraid things will get worse before they get better. We may be forced to kill again." Harry sighed.

"We will deal with it when the day comes." Neville added.

AN: I know what I did to Rita was a bit cruel, but she will play a key role in the future chapters thanks to those seals. As for the fight, I doubt anyone would stay and fight while outnumbered and suffering from a concussion and posibly mild blood loss.


	11. Chapter 11

A new chapter out, and personally, I feel it's one of my best works yet. I hope you all enjoy it.

**Chapter 11**

"This heat is really getting to me." Harry was sitting on the back porch together with his familiar. It was amazing that he had managed to keep the extremely deadly snake at Hogwarts without anyone discovering it. Considering the snake was over five feet long, it was quite the feat.

"It has been an unusually hot summer, master, but nothing extraordinary. The heat will pass eventually." The snake hissed back.

"I know. I'm still bothered by Voldemort's return. I expect many battles lie ahead of us." Harry sighed.

"You will prevail, master. I have faith in you." The snake said with an assuring tone.

"Can I help you, aunt Petunia?" Harry turned to the woman, who approached carefully seeing he was talking to his pet snake.

"If it's not too much trouble, do you mind fetching Dudley for supper?" Petunia asked nervously.

"I could stretch my legs a bit." Harry stood up and extended his hand to Acheron, who slithered up his arm. "Let me just drop him off at my room."

* * *

It took him over an hour to locate his cousin's gang and wait until they had broken apart for the night.

"Dudley." The fat boy froze when he heard his cousin's voice behind him. Despite his size and bravado, he knew there was no way he could win against Harry.

"What is it?" Dudley asked gruffly.

"Your mom asked me to fetch you. Let's go." Harry walked past him. He only made a few steps before he stopped. Dudley, not expecting the sudden stop, slammed into Harry. He was surprised when the obviously lighter Harry barely moved from the impact.

It was then Dudley felt something was wrong. A sudden chill filled the alley where they stood as the sky darkened.

"Dudley, if you value your life, you'll stay still and do as I say." Dudley could only nod noticing the seriousness in Harry's tone.

"Here they come." Harry whispered as he traced the two hooded figures trough the night.

Dudley felt the chill become unbearable, and his mind was filled with horrible memories, things he had struggled to forget.

Then, he heard his cousin take a deep breath, and the alley was filled with bright light and heat. He opened his eyes and saw an inferno blazing before them and from the fire, he heard horrible shrieks.

"Did you get them?" Dudley whispered.

"You can't kill these things. Run home while they're distracted. You'll be safe there." Harry snapped as he watched the Dementors get trough his flames.

"Doton: Swamp Snake Maw." Harry formed several hand signs. The alley turned into a swamp, and a giant snake head made from the muck rose up and snapped over the pair of Dementors, pulling them into the stagnant waters. Moments later, the alley returned to normal.

Harry rushed away after that, not noticing the wide-eyed old woman who had witnessed the whole event.

* * *

"What happened?" Petunia turned to Harry as he walked in. She and Vernon were still fussing over a shivering Dudley.

"Give him some chocolate. It will help. It seems someone saw fit to send a couple of Dementors after me." Harry explained calmly.

Petunia gasped in shock. She knew what those creatures were.

"They didn't get to Dudley, did they?" She whispered.

"No. We may not like each other, but he's still family. The problem is who sent them. Either answer is not pleasant." Harry said with a frown.

"What do you mean, boy? And what are Dementors?" Vernon did not like the situation one bit, but fear of his nephew stopped him from exploding.

"Dementors are dark creatures that have the ability to absorb all positive emotions and memories a man has, as well as the ability to suck out a man's soul with what is called the Dementor's Kiss. The Ministry of Magic uses them as guards of the magical prison. A cruel, but effective measure to prevent escapes. Most criminals go mad within weeks after incarceration." Harry still kept his calmness.

"As for what I meant before, only two persons could have sent those things after me. One is the newly resurrected Lord Voldemort." Petunia gave a frightened gasp at this.

"Are we safe?" She asked.

"This house is well protected. No one intending to do us harm can enter it, not even when invited. Now, the second possibility is even more troubling. Someone from the Ministry of Magic sent them after me." Harry's words echoed trough the silent kitchen.

"Why would they do something like that?" Vernon asked, his eyes narrowing.

"For most wizards, facing a Dementor is a death sentence. If someone in the Ministry sent them, they were hoping they would either kill me, or, force me to defend myself, which meant using magic. Either way, the Ministry wins. Personally, my money is on the Ministry. I'm not very popular in the higher circles of magical government at the moment." Harry shrugged.

"How come?" Petunia was filled with deep resentment for her sister and her offspring, but she did not want to see the boy killed by some maniac with a wand like her sister.

"Long story. Don't worry about it; I can take care of myself." Harry shrugged and headed upstairs.

* * *

"Harry, we're going out for the night." Petunia walked up to his room.

"Have fun." Harry replied shortly as he continued to oil a batch of kunai. He was just finishing putting the poison on the last two when he heard something break in the kitchen, and following it, were the faint sound of voices.

Knowing no one with hostile intent could come into the house, and that he was more than a match for even armed Muggle burglars, he calmly finished his work and gathered the knives back into their holster which sat hidden on his leg.

"Moony, what brings you here?" Harry recognized the scent of Remus Lupin as he walked down to greet his guests.

"Harry. Good to see you." Lupin grinned as Harry turned on the lights.

"You don't seem too troubled to see us, boy." Harry recognized the gruff man, even if he had never met him. After all, the impostor impersonating Moody was teaching him for a whole year.

"This house is protected by blood wards. If you're here to kill me, you'd be a smear on the wall right about now." Harry shrugged.

"Harry, we're here to relocate you somewhere safer. We got word that a pair of Dementors were seen around here." Remus explained.

"Alright. How are we traveling?" Harry asked.

"Brooms. It's not safe to do it any other way at the time." Lupin replied shortly.

"Let me go and pack." Harry walked back to his room, followed by a young witch with spiky violet hair.

"Wotcher, Harry. I'm Tonks." The witch introduced herself.

"You're Sirius's niece, right? Nymphadora, if I'm not mistaken." Harry grinned as she have him a short glare.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't use my first name, Harry." Tonks said as she waved her wand and all the loose items around the room began to fly into the trunk that Harry opened.

"Is that everything?" She asked.

"Just one more thing." Harry pried open a loose floorboard and pulled out a large scroll. It was a storage scroll that contained all of his poison supplies. Using a combination of several potions, Harry could get over a pint of venom a month from Acheron without harming the snake.

Considering the fact that three drops of it was a lethal dose for a human, it was a large quantity. Also, he covertly allowed Acheron to slither up his sleeve and under his shirt.

* * *

After Harry was Disillusioned, the group took off to the skies, and if Harry's navigation skills were not too rusty, they were headed towards London.

They arrived in an old decrepit house that had appeared before Harry after he had read a short note, making it clear to him that the house was hidden with the Fidelius charm.

The house looked like it hadn't been lived in for years, and the whole décor screamed Dark.

"The Black family house?" Harry whispered in the dark hall.

"Yes. Follow me to the kitchen." Remus led him to a vast room. A large table with plenty of chairs took most of the space. It was covered with scrolls, several goblets and a few empty bottles of wine.

Harry noticed two people talking in hushed tones. He recognized them as Arthur Weasley and one of his sons. A rather ratty and smelly man was sleeping in a chair. Harry noticed Mrs. Weasley walk in, together with Sirius who gave him a big hug.

"You were seen getting rid of the Dementors." Sirius whispered in his ear as he hugged him, making him pale slightly.

However, as the room slowly got more and more crowded, Harry could not ask anything more. He caught sight of Hermione, who gave him a silent signal they needed to talk.

"So, what's been going on? Voldemort start to cause mayhem yet?" Harry asked once the dinner Mrs. Weasley had prepared had been eaten. An uncomfortable silence fell upon the room.

After a brief conflict between Sirius and Mrs. Weasley, Harry was told what's been going on, and reading between the lines, he managed to get the general outline of the situation.

Voldemort was lying low, increasing his followers and powerbase. Meanwhile, the Minister of Magic believed he and Dumbledore had concocted the story of Voldemort's return to destabilize the government and remove the Minister, Cornelius Fudge from power.

Meanwhile, the Order was secretly spreading the word about Voldemort, and from what Harry pieced together, they were protecting something.

At last, the conversation was finished and Harry was led upstairs. He was placed in a room together with Ron Weasley. While they were not really friends, they were dorm mates and Harry had no problem with the arrangement.

* * *

"Things are getting complicated, Harry. Do you know someone called Arabella Figg?" Hermione pulled him to an empty room the next morning.

"Yeah, she's this old woman living in my neighborhood. Why?" Harry asked.

"Because she's a Squib that Dumbledore placed there to keep an eye on you. She was there when you used your swamp snake maw on those Dementors. She told the Order of the Phoenix everything. I reckon they'll ask you about it, if not today, then soon. They'll want to know." Hermione's words made him a bit nervous.

"Stay calm. So far, only Sirius knows what we can do, and he'll keep quiet. As for the others, I'll think of something if they ask. Have you had any contact with Neville?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, Sirius gave us these mirrors; they work just like mobile phones. He's all right, but his gran is keeping a sharper eye on him than usual. I guess she's worried about him." She replied.

"I don't see why. If any Death Eaters attack him, there won't be enough left of them to fit in a matchbox." Harry grinned widely.

* * *

It was later in the day that Harry met Sirius's house elf, a decrepit old thing called Kreacher.

Everyone gasped when Harry grabbed the elf by the throat and slammed it hard against the wall after the elf called Hermione a Mudblood.

"If you ever insult my friends again, I will kill you, very, very slowly. Understood?" The last word was said in Parseltongue, and the elf's eyes bulged comically wide.

"A thousand pardons, sir. Kreacher will not do it again." The elf bowed to the floor after he had dropped him.

"Now, clean up this place. This is supposed to be the home of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, not a pigsty." The elf froze at those words as if Harry was choking him again.

* * *

After lunch, Harry and the others were tasked with clearing out a bunch of stuff from some cabinets in one of the unused rooms.

Everything was going well until Harry took hold of a large golden locket. His senses screamed at him as he felt a very familiar energy deep within the locket.

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione shook him and tried to take the locket from him, but he held it in an iron hard grip.

"Yeah. Let's carry on." He pocketed the locket and resumed with his work. He was lucky that only Hermione noticed the locket.

"So, what so important about that locket?" She asked once they were alone again.

"Touch it." Harry handed it to her, and she gasped as she felt it too.

"This holds a fragment of his soul as well? This changes things." She whispered.

"Yeah. I thought that the fragment in me was just a side-effect of the curse rebounding on him, but this paints a whole new picture. If he has a fragment inside this locket, then he might have… The diary. It must have contained a fragment as well." Harry exclaimed.

"Then we can't go after Voldemort until we've found out how many fragments there are and where are they?" Hermione frowned.

"Yeah. Even if we kill him now, his soul will linger, and he'll find a way to come back again." Harry sighed.

"But they could be anything and anywhere. How will we find these things?" She asked.

"We can still fight him, we just can't kill him. Eventually, we'll find them, even if we have to interrogate Voldemort to get them. Our plans are still in place." Harry replied firmly.

"Alright then. I'll let Neville know about this." Hermione said and walked out.

* * *

"Harry, I think it's time we had a little talk." It was only a week until the term started when Dumbledore came to speak with Harry about his Dementor encounter.

"You want to know about the Dementors." Harry went straight to the point.

"Indeed. When Arabella contacted me about that night, I didn't know what to think. Her story was difficult to believe, but I have never known her to lie or exaggerate, so I have to ask, what happened that night?" Dumbledore asked.

"I used a special spell. Something the Ministry cannot track." Harry shocked the small group of wizards before him.

"How come?" Tonks was surprised at this fact.

"Because, not everyone can use it. There is a condition, and it is also the source of the spell." Harry grinned as several of the people in the room gave him annoyed looks.

"And what exactly is this condition?" Dumbledore smiled lightly.

"One moment, please." Harry put his hand on the table, and Acheron slithered out of his sleeve.

"That's a red striped asp, Dumbledore." Moody had his wand in his hand at the sight of the serpent.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't curse my familiar." Harry gave Moody a short look. "I need the contract, Acheron."

Several people flinched at the sound of Parseltongue, but Dumbledore remained calm as he watched the snake retch a long scroll.

"It actually exists?" Dumbledore paled as he unrolled the scroll. He saw Harry's name, and right underneath it, was the name Salazar Slytherin, confirming the scroll's nature.

"If I can have it back, headmaster?" Harry held out his hand, and Dumbledore absently handed the scroll back. Harry gave it to Acheron who swallowed it again before he returned to his place underneath Harry's shirt.

"How long have you had that snake, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked.

"Since before my eleventh birthday. I rescued him from a Muggle zoo. His kind need magic to survive, and he was dying there." Harry explained.

"Mr. Potter, while Hogwarts permits students to take their familiars to the castle regardless of species, that is a very dangerous serpent, and I will have to ask you to leave it in the care of your godfather." The stern woman spoke in a firm tone.

"Professor, Acheron has been with me in Hogwarts for the last four years, and has not even been seen. He is not dangerous, or do you doubt my ability to control my own familiar?" Harry's argument left the witch speechless.

"Harry is correct, Minerva. I have the utmost confidence in Harry's ability to control his own familiar. On another note, I have your Hogwarts letters here. Please give the others theirs as well." Dumbledore handed Harry a stack of letters.

Harry's letter contained a further surprise for him. A shiny prefect badge was in the envelope as well.

"Well this is a surprise." Harry grinned as Hermione rushed in, clutching a badge as well.

"I reckon things will get more interesting at Hogwarts this year." Harry gave her a wide grin.


	12. Chapter 12

Here comes the next part in this little adventure. Hope you like it.

**Chapter 12**

Harry and Hermione finally met up with Neville in the Hogwarts express, but again, they had to part for a while since Harry and Hermione had to go up to the prefects carriage to be briefed on their duties.

"Find Luna and save us some seats, will you?" Harry asked his friend before they parted.

"You're really getting attached to Luna. Thinking about making her your girlfriend?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe. I hope you have no problem with it." Harry turned his gaze to her.

"While she does annoy me, I have no problem with you dating her." Hermione replied.

"What about you and Neville?" Harry asked, making her blush a bit.

"We're just friends, Harry. We talked about it, and we both feel we're not really compatible." Hermione shrugged.

The prefect meeting went on well, even if Malfoy tried to antagonize Harry, but again, was met with failure. Harry's calmness was already legendary in Hogwarts.

* * *

"Hi Luna. Did you miss me?" Harry sat down to the blond girl and gave her a light hug.

"I did think about you a few times." Luna smiled as he gave her a mock pout.

"That was harsh. You're a cruel woman." He sank his head in sadness. The scene was too much for Luna, who broke down in giggles moments later.

The trip was very enjoyable and was spent in a very relaxed atmosphere.

"Are those thestrals?" Hermione whispered as she saw the strange horse-like creature pulling their carriage. Neville nodded grimly next to her.

"I guess I'm the only one that can't see them." Harry knew what thestrals were, but he believed that he did not remember seeing his mother die was the fact he could not see the creatures, and he had not seen death since.

* * *

The Sorting feast was not quite as enjoyable as Harry had hoped it would be. While the meal itself was delicious, it was after it when Dumbledore started the announcements that the trouble began.

Their new DADA teacher, a toad-like woman named Umbridge not only interrupted Dumbledore in what was a poorly veiled show of power, but also spouted a lot of nonsense. The underlying message left a bitter taste in Harry's mouth. The Ministry couldn't leave him alone even in Hogwarts.

At last, the night was over and it was time for the students to head to their dorms.

"First years, follow me." Harry's firm tone easily carried over the din of the hall and the Gryffindor first years soon gathered around him and Hermione.

The first years stared nervously at him, and several of them were whispering silently.

"Please follow me to the Gryffindor tower. I am certain you might be a bit overwhelmed at the moment, but I want you to know that if you have any trouble here, feel free to talk to my fellow prefects or me." Harry smiled lightly, and the students seemed to relax a bit.

"This portrait is the guardian of the common room entrance. You cannot enter without the password, so remember it well. Password changes will be posted in advance on the common room board so make sure you check those out. Passwords are changed every two weeks." Hermione stopped them at the common room entrance.

"Mimbulus mimbletonia." Hermione spoke to the portrait of the Fat Lady, who nodded and swung to the side.

"Boys, follow me." Harry led the group to the boys' dormitories while Hermione led her bunch to the female side.

"This is your dorm. You'd best get a good night's sleep, you'll need it." Harry grinned as the boys rushed to their beds quickly.

* * *

The next day did not improve his mood any further. Arithmancy was the only bright spot in their day, and considering how difficult that class was, that was saying something.

On the bright side, Umbridge had revealed her plan. Her class course completely removed the practical lessons and focused strictly on extremely dull theory.

"Do you think he might be mad?" Neville watched absently as Harry held the Kusanagi sword in his hand and was turning wooden dummies shaped like Umbridge and Fudge into sawdust.

"I say he kills her before Christmas." Hermione grinned and placed a galleon on the table they were sitting on.

"I say he lasts until the end of the year. He's gotten a lot better in self-control." Neville shrugged.

"What makes you say that?" Hermione gave him a puzzled look.

"Creevey is still alive, isn't he?" Neville shrugged and headed off to do his own training. He couldn't practice with the strongest explosives inside the castle, so he used his clay creations to fly up to a valley up in the mountains where he could drop bombs to his heart's content.

* * *

Hermione noticed a slight twitch in Harry's hand as they read the announcement about the new Hogwarts High Inquisitor, a new Ministry invented position given to Umbridge.

"Looks like I'm going to win that bet." Hermione grinned at Neville, who simply stuck out his tongue at her.

Fortunately for Umbridge, Harry seemed most capable of controlling himself, and had found an outlet for his anger in Luna's company.

The pair was getting very close as the days rolled by, and Hermione expected to see them kissing by the time the first Hogsmeade visit rolled by.

* * *

"Harry, can I talk with you for a moment?" Hermione called him from his own study room in the RoR. Each of them had their personal area where they studied the topics that interested them in peace.

"Sure." Harry rolled the scroll back and placed it back on its shelf.

"I've been thinking, and Umbridge is not doing people any favors by refusing to allow practical lessons." Hermione began.

"We're already practicing the spells, Hermione." Harry shrugged.

"Yeah, but the others aren't. Do you really want people to face Voldemort with what they learned from Umbridge? I'm not asking you to teach them shinobi skills, but they could use some decent DADA lessons and perhaps some combat tactics." Hermione suggested.

"You expect me to be the instructor?" Harry narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You're the best teacher between the three of us. I doubt I'd have been able to get this far without your advice. You know I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't important." Hermione said in a pleading tone.

"Might as well do it, it will help pass the time. But in return, I want you to do something. I think it's time Umbridge got a roguish welcome to Hogwarts. You can ask the twins to help with the execution, but the idea and planning has to be yours." Harry grinned as she paled a bit. Usually Harry was the creative genius.

As she walked out the RoR, an idea popped into her head so outrageous and funny, she fell on the floor clutching her sides from the laughter.

* * *

It took her two days with the help of the twins to get everything arranged. But the next day during breakfast, they couldn't contain their excitement.

The students and teachers had just begun eating when loud music began to echo throughout the hall. The muggleborn students quickly recognized the music and looked up eagerly awaiting another show by the now famous Rogues.

The music stopped suddenly and the doors opened, allowing Umbridge to rush inside, wearing a purple suit, green hair and face painted white with a large red smile.

She stopped in the middle of the Great Hall, and everyone froze when they saw who was following her. Snape was dressed as the Batman, complete with mask, cape, utility belt and tights. Following him was Malfoy dressed as Robin.

"You'll never get me, caped crusader." Umbridge laughed madly.

"What do we do now, Batman?" Malfoy turned to Snape, not noticing the sniggers following that statement.

"Fear not, Robin, we shall stop this vile villain yet." Snape said firmly and they rushed Umbridge, executing a beautifully choreographed fight that left the students roaring with laughter.

Finally, they had Umbridge tied up, and the genjutsu passed, along with the spells that changed their clothes and appearance.

"I have to say, the Rogues are getting funnier with every prank." Harry replied Hermione's silent question.

* * *

"I have a special contract for everyone joining our group. It will make sure they keep quiet." Hermione told him.

"That's a good idea. The meeting will be right here three days from now at eight. Make sure anyone interested signs your contract and knows about the meeting before then." Harry replied.

"I thought it would be useful if we met in Hogsmeade to talk with the potential students." Hermione suggested.

"Hermione, we're operating in wartime conditions behind enemy lines. What you're suggesting will bring too much attention to our activities. Go trough our house first then use the people who sign up to spread the word to the other houses. They can then spread the word to their friends as well. Offer them a chance to actually learn some Defense, then, when they ask for details, have them sign the contract before telling them everything. If you're careful, Umbridge won't have a clue about what we're doing unless someone talks, and I'm sure your contract will make sure they don't reveal too much." Harry shot down her suggestion and offered a viable alternative.

"You're right. Thanks, Harry. I'll get on it right away." She stood up.

"I'll talk to Luna myself. We have our first date tomorrow." Harry grinned. Suddenly, his face turned serious. "Hermione, you understand the risk we're taking exposing this room, right? If too many people find out about it, we won't be able to practice our shinobi skills properly. So make sure no one learns what exactly this room is capable of doing. Also make sure your contract carries the most severe punishment for attempting to reveal the location. Not revealing, Hermione, but even attempting to reveal. Understood?" It wasn't often Harry turned this serious, but when he did, it was imperative to follow his advice.

Harry's date was very pleasant, and greatly alleviated his stress. After a nice stroll trough the village, they went to Honeyduke's where Harry bought her several treats, after which they ended up having drinks in the Three Broomsticks.

However, it was the end of the day that Harry found the most memorable. Just before they parted, Luna wrapped her hands around him and gave him a light kiss right on the lips. It was nothing passionate, but it demonstrated their deepening affection.

* * *

"Fred and George are keeping a lookout outside. They have their map and your Invisibility Cloak if anyone we're not expecting shows up." Hermione explained as Harry looked around at the now different RoR, this time oriented on the study of defensive magic.

"Welcome everyone." Harry stared at the two dozen people that showed up.

"Like you were told, you're here to practice Defensive magic. If everyone's alright with it, I will be leading this group." Harry stopped for a moment, but no one contested his claim.

"Now, before we start practicing any spells, I'd like to talk about basic combat tactics." Harry expected some people to complain, but everyone remained quiet and observant.

"The most important thing is accuracy. It doesn't matter if you know the spells if you can't hit your target. Now, decent accuracy would be the ability to hit a grown man at twenty paces nine times out of ten. I hope that by the end of the year that you'll be able to get the same score at twice the distance. Second thing that is critical in a fight is dodging. Dodging allows you to conserve your magical power, but it also gives you the ability to avoid being hit by curses that cannot be blocked. Curses that Dark Wizards have no qualms in using." Harry said somberly.

"You've all seen the Unforgivable Curses. You know what they do. Dodging is your only defense against them. The third aspect of a fight is, never turn your back on a downed opponent, and never, ever, use stunners in battle." Harry said firmly, surprising everyone.

"What do you mean?" A Ravenclaw boy spoke from the back of the group.

"Stunners are used only when you outnumber your opponents two-to-one, because that way, you have people who can prevent those that were stunned from rejoining the fight. A stunner is a useful spell, but it's too easily countered. In a fight against a Death Eater, a Reductor is far more useful. Hit his wand arm, or his legs, anything to get them out of the fight. You must prevent them from helping their allies. Make no mistake, if Death Eaters get to you, they WILL torture and kill you without a hint of remorse. I'm not telling you to fight to kill, no, that would be going down to their level, but crippling them is a reliable way of taking them out of the fight." Harry's words struck deep into them. They realized that this was far more serious than they expected.

"I know I sounded a bit grim, but trust me when I say that what you learn here will save your life if you're ever forced to fight a Dark wizard. Now, everyone up, let's see how accurate you are." Harry waved his wand as he asked the room to provide the targets. By pretending he conjured the targets, he concealed the room's nature.

The results were not as good as he had hoped, but neither were they bad. He moved trough the group, adjusting grips and correcting motions. They were to shoot sparks using all the common wand movements they had learned were used in casting. By the end of the class, their skill had improved dramatically.

* * *

The weeks passed in a blur. Harry kept the newly dubbed Defense Association practicing their accuracy until they had it to an acceptable level, then moved on pairing them by practicing the Disarming charm while the partner dodged it. This not only helped them learn the spell, but also improved their dodging as well as aiming at a mobile target.

Things didn't turn serious until they learned the Reductor spell. They practiced on dummies that had the same density as human bones, and could be animated to move. Most people were reluctant to practice, seeing the damage their spells inflicted, but realized how useful it was.

* * *

"Looking forward to the holidays?" Neville asked a few days before Christmas.

"Yeah. I'm going to work on some techniques I've wanted to learn for a while. Here, I was going to mail it to you, but then I thought I'd make a spare copy. Do you mind taking it to your parents?" Harry handed him two identical pictures. Four people were in them. He instantly recognized his parents, and from their appearance, Neville guessed the other two were Harry's parents.

"Thanks, Harry. I'll make sure they get it." Neville smiled sadly.

"Neville, if Voldemort ever breaks out the Lestranges, I swear I'll hold them down while you stuff C-2 down their throats." Neville grinned widely at the image, which served the purpose of breaking his funk.

His plans were scraped by the news that McGonagall told them just as people were getting ready to leave.

It turned out that the previous night; Arthur Weasley was attacked by a large snake while doing something for the Order. Fortunately for the man, he managed to fight the poison and blood loss long enough to conjure some bandages around his wound and drag himself to the nearest portrait. He was quickly taken to St. Mungo's where he was treated, but the outcome was still uncertain.

Harry was asked to head back to Headquarters together with the Weasley children.

* * *

"We need to talk." Harry dragged Sirius away while everyone was busy with the news.

"What do you want to know?" Sirius knew his godson would have questions.

"What was Mr. Weasley guarding?" Harry asked calmly.

"I wouldn't be telling you this normally, but I know what you're really capable of, so I'll be open with you." Sirius sighed.

"The Order is protecting the Department of Mysteries, or to be more specific, the Hall of Prophecies. Inside it is a prophecy made about you and Voldemort that he desperately wants to get his hands on. Now, I don't know what the prophecy says, but I know that it is the reason why Voldemort went after you fourteen years ago." Sirius replied.

"I see. So, why not just send one of his spies to get it for him?" Harry guessed he must have someone inside that department.

"It's not that simple, Harry. Only the people the prophecy mentions can take the prophecy from where it lies. In this case, only you or Voldemort can take it."

"Meaning, he will either force his way trough the Ministry and reveal himself, or trick me into getting it for him." Harry added.

"Yes. You need to be more careful, Harry. He must not get the prophecy." Sirius said in a stern tone.

AN: Well, first off, I really like Arthur, and I couldn't just let him die because Harry lost his connection to Voldemort. Also, you can expect more romance in the next chapter, as well as more pranks and Umbridge bashing. The DoM fight will most likely serve as the entirety of chapter 14, and it will be the first true fight our trio faces. Until then, enjoy.


	13. Chapter 13

Here comes the next chapter. I'd like to thank those reviewers that pointed out the spelling errors in the last chapters, hopefully I managed to take care of it. Also, I hope I managed the romance scene well, since it's not exactly my strong point.

**Chapter 13**

"I guess I'll be keeping my promise sooner than I expected." Harry turned to Neville as they read about the recent breakout of several Death Eaters from Azkaban.

The news had the trio training harder than ever. They could feel a conflict approaching, and they were determined to get ready for it.

Before they knew it, Valentine's Day had arrived, and with it, Harry was planning a special day for Luna. They had grown very close over the year, and he felt it was time to come clean with her.

* * *

"What's the surprise, Harry?" Luna asked curiously as he led her to the RoR.

"It's not exactly a surprise, more of a confession. I want to come clean with you, Luna. I don't want any secrets between us." Harry replied in a serious tone.

Luna was surprised to see the room she knew well changed so drastically. Instead of the large DADA classroom she was used to, it was a large hall now, and one of the walls was missing.

She saw Neville standing by the opening next to a large white thing resembling a bird.

"You sure you can handle it?" Neville asked as he handed him a large basket.

"Don't worry. You taught me well." Harry grinned as he held out a hand for Luna. Moments later, they were soaring through the air on the back of the large clay bird.

"Where are we going, Harry?" Luna asked curiously as he turned to cast a warming charm on her.

"I thought you might enjoy a private picnic. It will also allow us to talk in private." Harry smiled gently as she blushed.

They landed in a small valley, and Luna couldn't help but gasp at the sight.

There was a small meadow surrounded by trees from all sides, and a small stream flowing right through it. In her mind, it was perfect.

"I think its best we talked while we ate." Harry grinned as he pulled out a large blanket and began pulling out the dishes from the basket.

As they ate, he began telling her about his shinobi skills. How he discovered them, how he started training, and even what he and his friends could do.

"So, can I learn those things as well?" Luna asked eagerly, but her smile faded as she saw Harry's solemn face.

"Well, we found out if you want to master these skills, you need to start young. Hermione and Neville were actually on the border when they started training." Harry sighed. "Don't get me wrong. If I could, I'd teach you everything."

"I know you would, Harry. Well, since you came clean to me, I should do the same. You know the way I act most of the time? Well, it's just that, an act." Luna sighed as he gave her a curious look.

"My dad was always unusual, but ever since my mom died, it hit him really hard. It was impossible to grow with him and not pick up some of his habits. When I got here, a lot of people gave me a hard time because of it, so slowly I started acting crazy to keep people away." Luna sighed.

"I'd say it worked a little too well." Harry remembered how big an outcast Luna was before they had met.

"Once I got into the act, I guess I lost myself into it. I actually became what I merely pretended to be. Until you came along. You helped me remember who I am. Don't worry though; I'll still drive Hermione crazy." Luna finished her tale with a small smile.

"Promise?" Harry pulled her closer so that she was resting against his chest. She turned her head so that their eyes met.

"I promise to always be the loony girl you fell in love with." She whispered gently.

"And I promise to always support and protect you." Harry whispered back as their lips met.

This time, they poured all their love into it, and in that moment, time seemed to stop. For that single moment, only the young couple existed in the universe.

"I love you, Luna." Harry whispered when they separated.

"I love you too, Harry." She smiled as they fell back on the blanket, staring up at the sky.

"I could stay like this forever." She giggled.

"I know what you mean." Harry wrapped his hand around her.

* * *

Things did not stay calm for too long. The day after the next DA meeting, the school was abuzz with the news that a Ravenclaw sixth year was sent to the Hospital Wing. The biggest news was the fact that Madam Pomfrey could not awaken her.

"She tried to talk. I talked to Cho; Marietta was seen going towards Umbridge's office the night of the meeting." Hermione informed him after lunch.

"What exactly did you use on the contract?" Harry asked.

"It was really difficult to link the spells with intent, instead of action like you asked me to, but I managed it. The first part silences the offender the moment they intend to betray us, followed by a strong sleeping spell. This is where the shinobi tricks kick in. I added a hypnotic genjutsu to the contract that erases all knowledge of the RoR while the offender is asleep. Madam Pomfrey can't wake her up because she can't detect or break the genjutsu." Hermione explained.

"That's pretty devious, even for you. When will she wake up, and what happens then?" Harry complimented her.

"She'll be awake by tomorrow morning. I'm afraid once she's awake, the contract won't affect her again. She'll be able to tell people about the DA, just not where it is we're meeting." Hermione winced when she noticed the flaw in her contract.

"Protecting the RoR is paramount, Hermione. I'll go talk to her when she wakes up." Harry said and walked away.

* * *

"That was very foolish of you. Did you think we wouldn't have taken precautions?" Marietta froze as the first thing she saw was Harry's cold face.

"I was scared. My mom works for the Ministry. I don't want her to lose her job, she's all I have." Marietta sobbed.

"I am not here to listen to your reasons. As a traitor, your name is no longer on the contract, and as such, you are capable of telling others about the DA, but I'll highly recommend you keep your mouth shut. Do you know what will happen if we're caught?" Harry asked calmly.

"You'll be expelled?" Marietta was very close to using 'we', but caught herself just in time. She was no longer part of the DA.

"Most of us, yes. I get something extra as the leader and organizer. Six months to a year." Harry's words struck her like a knife.

"What do you mean?" She asked shakily.

"By organizing the DA, I am breaking several of the Ministry's new laws, and I am also leading a vigilante group that operates against the Ministry's best interests, at least that's what the charges will be. The punishment is six months to a year since I'm underage." Harry shrugged.

"I had no idea. I won't tell her anything. I swear." Marietta jumped up in her bed.

"We're going to give you a chance to redeem yourself. Umbridge will arrive soon to question you. If you're reluctant, she will most likely use Veritaserum on you." Marietta panicked at that. She could not lie if she was given that potion.

"Take this. When Umbridge walks in, bite it and swallow. It is an antidote that will last for six hours. It also mimics the trance the potion creates so Umbridge won't suspect foul play. Keep your comrades hidden, and you're back in the DA." Harry gave her a small pill and walked away.

The next day, Marietta was back in the DA, nervously at first, but since no one talked about her actions, the girl relaxed.

* * *

As the end of the year neared, fifth years students were informed about career counseling, as well as given schedules for their meeting with their head of house.

"So, Potter, have you had any thoughts on what you wish to do when you leave Hogwarts?" McGonagall looked at him from across the desk while Umbridge was sitting behind him. He could hear the occasional scratch of her quill.

"I think I might enjoy teaching. Other than that, I haven't given it much thought." Harry replied shortly.

McGonagall was surprised at his reply, but collected herself quickly.

"If your work continues to remain on the same level, Potter, I have no doubt you'll be able to apply for a teaching position for a number of subjects. However, Hogwarts very rarely hires people right after graduation. Then again, you never know. I recommend you maintain your current courses which leaves you several other options open should you be unable to secure a teaching position." McGonagall smiled at him.

Umbridge seemed like she wanted to comment, but her personal dislike aside, Harry was an exemplary student and there was nothing she could say.

* * *

"Harry, Sirius called me while you were training. He wants to talk to you." Hermione handed him a small handheld mirror.

"What can I do for you, Sirius?" Harry grinned as he saw his godfather's face appear in the mirror.

"It's about Hagrid. You haven't talked to him lately, have you?" Sirius asked.

"Not outside of class. We've been really busy, and we can't talk during class since Umbridge is always hovering around." Harry replied.

"Well, he's been having some trouble with a certain issue, and I thought you might be able to help him. It's like this…" Sirius explained the situation to Harry.

"Hagrid's done it again." Harry ran his hand down his face as he rejoined his friends.

"What sort of monster does he have this time?" Hermione sighed. Hagrid's love for dangerous creatures was well known to the trio.

"His baby brother." Harry replied shortly.

"You mean…" Neville's eyes grew wide. That was a bit much, even for Hagrid.

"What do we do?" Hermione asked.

"We go in and educate him with some genjutsu. He is Hagrid's brother, after all." Harry shrugged.

Their plan worked well and they managed to cast several illusions on the giant without even waking him up.

* * *

Pretty soon, the bulk of their time was taken by the upcoming O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams, and the fifth and seventh years focused solely on reviewing the materials.

The exams were spread over two weeks, and due to the large amount of material, the trio were even forced to stop their shinobi training.

"Well, I'm glad that's over." Harry grinned after their last exam was over and they were sitting in the Great Hall eating lunch.

"Yeah. I feel like my brain has turned to mush." Neville added as he dug into his food.

"Harry, are you expecting a letter?" Hermione looked up as a large owl flew in and dropped a letter before Harry.

She frowned when she saw that the letter was sealed with the Dark Mark.

Harry opened the letter, but all Hermione could see were long, curvy writing that she could not recognize.

"What sort of writing is that?" She frowned.

"Parseltongue. Go and get your full gear." Harry burned the letter and left the hall.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked as he joined them in the RoR. They were all wearing black cargo pants with a black shirt that had mesh armor underneath. Their headbands were tied firmly on their foreheads.

In addition, Hermione had her Samehada sword on her back while Neville had two large pouches tied to his belt.

"The Department of Mysteries. It seems Voldemort wants me to get the prophecy for him. He has threatened to kill Sirius if I do not. What he doesn't know is that I have other ways of talking to Sirius. He's still safe at HQ, so this is obviously a trap." Harry explained.

"So, what's the plan?" Neville asked eagerly.

"We go in, retrieve the prophecy and eliminate any Death Eater waiting to ambush us. If you meet Voldemort, run away. We have yet to find anything about any other soul fragments he might have out there. Neville, this will be close quarters combat, so nothing above C-1. If we meet the Lestranges, they're all yours. Now, if you'd please provide some transportation?" Harry explained.

Neville nodded and quickly created two large birds.

"You know, I almost feel sorry about the Death Eaters. Well, almost." Hermione gave him a sharp grin as she deactivated her Henge seal.


	14. Chapter 14

The long expected fight of the DoM is here. Enjoy.

**Chapter 14**

It took them several hours of flight to get to London, pushing Neville's birds to their limits to get there with time to spare.

"Get in the booth." Harry led them to a broken down telephone booth and began dialing a series of numbers.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and purpose of visit." A female voice was heard.

"Snake, Shark and Artist here for vermin extermination." Harry smirked as three badges fell from the coin return slot.

"Where to now?" Hermione looked curiously at the empty Atrium.

"The elevator." They rushed over, feeling a bit silly just standing there as the elevator rode deeper into the building.

"You think we'll be ambushed?" She asked as Harry strode calmly out of the elevator and towards a simple door.

"Not until we get the prophecy. Until I take it from where it lies, they can't touch it." Harry replied as they stopped in a large circular room. The moment the door they walked in closed, the walls began to rumble and spin shifting the doors around.

"What the hell was that?" Neville frowned.

"Protection against intruders. Fortunately Voldemort was kind enough to tell me how to bypass it. Department of temporal research." Harry shouted.

"Password please." A voice was heard.

"The man of steel." Harry replied, and a door swung open. They rushed through it and into a large cavernous room filled with rows upon rows of shelves.

* * *

"Where to now?" Hermione turned to Harry. In response, he turned right and moved to row ninety-seven.

At the other end of it lay the prophecy that Voldemort wanted, and Harry had to admit, he was curious about the contents as well.

The moment he lifted it up, black figures began to appear around them. Harry grinned lightly as he recognized several scents.

"Very good, Potter. Now, hand over the prophecy." Lucius Malfoy stepped forward, his mask and hood removed.

"Lucius. How are you doing on this fine evening?" Harry grinned smugly as several Death Eaters shifted nervously.

"Stop your games Potter and give me the prophecy." Lucius snapped.

"In due time, Lucius. I see you've brought your sister-in-law and her in-laws. Neville would have been disappointed if they weren't here." Harry grinned as several people turned to the boy next to Harry.

"Longbottom, huh? We'll see if you scream as hard as your blood-traitor parents did." Bellatrix cackled from next to Lucius.

"We shall see who ends up screaming when this night is done, Bellatrix." Neville spoke calmly.

"Enough. The prophecy, Potter, or we start to torture your friends." Lucius held his hand forward.

"Let's make this more interesting." Harry held the prophecy above his head, and for a moment, Lucius thought he meant to smash it.

The Death Eaters were unprepared for the sight that greeted their eyes instead. Harry's tongue emerged from his mouth, over a foot in length and wrapped around the fist sized orb, pulling it into his mouth that opened inhumanly wide to accommodate the sphere.

With a loud gulping noise, the sphere rolled down his throat. Harry looked smugly at their disgusted faces.

"I'll get that prophecy even if I have to gut you to get it." Lucius growled.

"Good. The hunt is on." As one, the trio formed a single hand sign and vanished in a cloud of smoke.

"Get them you fools." Lucius snarled, but a cold voice froze them for a moment.

"The game is on, Death Eaters. Reach the Atrium and the prophecy is yours. You have five minutes before we come after you." Harry's voice echoed through the large room.

"Hunt them down and kill them. Bellatrix, come with me." Lucius ordered his men.

* * *

Hermione rested calmly against the ceiling as she watched the two Death Eaters beneath her search for them.

After several minutes, they decided that the room was clean and moved toward the next, but before they could get out, they heard a soft thump behind them.

They turned around, surprised to see the girl they were looking for standing behind them.

"Where the hell did you come from?" McNair growled lightly as he and Dolohov pointed their wands at her.

In response, she merely pointed up. McNair could have smacked himself. No one ever bothered looking at the ceiling. The girl must have levitated herself up there.

"I say we have some fun with her first. It's been a while since I've been with someone so young." Dolohov leered, but the grin froze on his face as Hermione took a step out of the shadows, showing them her true appearance.

"You'll find that a bit difficult to accomplish." She gave them a dangerously sharp grin.

"I guess we'll just kill you." McNair shrugged as two killing curses were sent at the shark-like girl.

Hermione quickly pulled her sword forward and blocked the curses with it. The bandages were a bit singed, but the blade endured the curses without a problem.

"My turn." Hermione grinned as large spikes shot out from underneath the bandages.

"Don't worry, my blade doesn't cut, it shaves." She shouted as she rushed at an inhuman speed at the two frightened men.

* * *

Loud screams rent the silence of the Department of Mysteries, momentarily halting all those that currently inhabited it.

"Hermione never was the patient one." Harry whispered as he watched his prey pass by him.

His green eyes shone softly as he released the camouflage technique and moved up to the ceiling behind the two men.

The trill of the hunt was what truly excited him. The kill was merely the culmination.

* * *

Neville too eyed his prey carefully. They were not what he was after, but he would take care of them before he went to look for his true prey. The others swore to him that they would not kill the Lestranges. Incapacitate, yes, but killing them was saved for him.

Deciding not to dawdle, he formed two large centipedes and sent them towards the two men.

Rookwood and Nott froze when two large white centipedes suddenly wrapped around them and bound them tightly.

"What the hell is this?" Nott hissed.

"Those are my artistic creations. A perfect blend between form and function, between real and abstract. An art that lives and breathes." Neville grinned at their confused looks. Slowly, he turned around and walked towards the door.

"But that's not all. For a single moment, my art transcends mere form and becomes true beauty. For true art is a blast." Neville formed a single sign and the centipedes detonated. Fortunately for him, he was out of the room when the body parts started raining.

* * *

Hearing the distant rumble, Harry's grin widened and his tongue snaked out and licked his lips eagerly. It was time for the kill.

Jugson and Avery froze when they felt the two snakes wrap around them. They turned their heads to their side and saw Harry standing calmly between them with the large constrictors coming out of his sleeves.

"Remember when Lucius said not to underestimate Potter?" Avery whispered to his partner who nodded a bit.

"I now know why." Avery added before Harry's kunai slashed his throat. Moments later, Jugson felt Death's cold embrace wrap around him as well.

* * *

Lucius and the Lestranges reached the circular room unharmed, and for a moment, they felt that Potter was just bragging.

Any moment now, they expected their comrades to come out with the teenagers' corpses.

A door did burst open, but it was not the sight they were expecting. Crabbe fell on the floor, halfway out of the room, a look of pure horror on his face.

"Now, now, we're not done playing yet." The four Death Eaters froze when Hermione appeared next to the panicking man and pulled him back into the room. The four people shivered at the man's pleading look.

"Be with you in a moment." She gave them a sinister grin as the door closed.

"Tell me I didn't just imagine that." Rabastan whispered.

"Oh, it was real alright." They all turned to see Harry and Neville behind them.

"The chase is over. You lose." Harry grinned as he brandished the Kusanagi blade.

"You think you can kill all of us?" Lucius scoffed, but then remembered that night at the cemetery. Potter had thrown that knife so fast he didn't even see his hand move.

"I'm going to kill you. Neville will take care of the rest. After all, it's his vendetta." Harry shrugged as he walked forward. Lucius walked to the side, separating himself from the rest.

"Is ickle baby Longbottom going to hurt me?" Bellatrix mocked the boy before her.

"I'm going to deal with you three by the Ancient Code." Neville growled and threw something at the Lestrange brothers.

Bellatrix froze at Neville's proclamation and took a nervous step back when she saw the large spiders attached to her husband and brother-in-law's faces.

"Ha." Neville snapped his hand in the activation seal, blowing their heads away.

Before Bellatrix could react, she felt a blow to the back of her neck, then, only darkness.

As that fight carried on, Harry was busy dodging Lucius's spells with inhuman grace.

"Got you at last, Potter." Lucius grinned as his killing curse finally struck the boy. His smug grin suddenly vanished when Harry burst into smoke and revealed a badly burnt door.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Harry spoke from behind the man as he swung his sword, separating the man's head from his body.

"Why didn't you kill her?" Harry frowned as he saw Neville throw Bellatrix over his shoulder.

"She did the most damage that night. I'm using the Ancient Code in her case." Neville replied shortly.

"Well, as heir apparent, you have the right. You're sure this is what you want to do?" Harry knew the code Neville referred to, but didn't expect Neville to follow it.

"How did Lucius fare?" Neville turned to see the man in question lie on the floor with his head a few feet away.

"Not bad, actually. He even forced me to use Kawarimi." Harry shrugged. It was at that moment Hermione joined them.

"Why is she still alive?" Hermione pointed at Bellatrix.

"I'll explain later. Come on, we need to leave." Neville turned towards the exit.

* * *

'Killing intent?' The trio froze as they were passing the fountain in the Atrium. Hermione instantly twirled around and blocked Voldemort's curse.

"I see my servants failed. No matter. Like they say, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Voldemort was livid as he stared at the trio and his unconscious servant draped over Neville's shoulder.

"Coming here was a mistake." Harry grinned as his senses felt the buildup of magic in the fireplaces and he shot a quick dose of killing intent at Voldemort, enough to stop him in place for a few moments.

The fireplaces roared with green fire as several wizards and witches walked in the Atrium, including the Minister of Magic and Dumbledore.

Fudge paled like a sheet when he saw the obviously pissed off Dark Lord. Voldemort gave a loud hiss of rage before he vanished.

In the confusion, nobody noticed the trio slip away.

* * *

"I need a shower. I feel so dirty." Hermione whispered as she retched what little stomach contents she had in an alley outside the Ministry.

Harry was resting against a wall, pale like a sheet and his hands trembling wildly.

Neville was staring at Bellatrix with a blank gaze. "What was I thinking?" He kept whispering under his breath.

"Harry, think you can manage a portkey to Hogsmeade?" Hermione turned to Harry.

He jumped up a bit, but managed to calm his shaking hands after a few moments.

"I think so." He grabbed a dustbin lid and cast the spell at it. The lid glowed blue for a few moments.

"Thank god for genjutsu." Harry whispered as everyone grabbed hold and vanished. Without the illusion to hide his magic, the Ministry would be able to detect him using magic outside Hogwarts.

* * *

The group dragged themselves to the castle where they were met by Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape before they could sneak in.

"I believe it would be best if we had a little talk." Dumbledore smiled at them, but the usual twinkle in his eyes was gone.

"If you don't mind, I need a pepper-up potion first, Headmaster." Harry yawned widely. They had already removed their headbands and Hermione had reactivated her Henge seal, but they were still wearing the shinobi style clothes and Hermione still had her huge sword strapped to her back.

"We will escort you to the Hospital Wing, then." Dumbledore replied.

"Mr. Longbottom, is there a reason you're carrying that woman with you?" McGonagall gave a short look at the still unconscious Bellatrix.

"The Ancient Code." Neville said shortly, making all three teachers to give him a sharp look.

"I daresay Augusta will have mixed reactions to that news." Dumbledore sighed.

"There they are. Arrest them." Umbridge rushed in followed by two Aurors.

"Hermione." Harry said shortly as he took his potion. Before anyone could react, the first Auror was on the floor, clutching his gut after Hermione drove her blunt sword tip into it, and the other flew through the doors after she kicked him in the face.

"Move and I shave your face off." Umbridge paled as sharp scales burst from underneath the bandages wrapped around the sword. All it would take is a single jerk of Hermione's arm, and her face would be torn off.

"This was all just a big misunderstanding." Umbridge spoke in a pleading tone, and Hermione allowed the scales to retract.

"While I am grateful you got rid of that woman, Ms. Granger, I fear you still owe us an explanation." Dumbledore finally spoke after Umbridge and her escort were gone.

"I'll explain it to you. No offense, but the less people know about our skills the better." Harry formed several hand signs, and McGonagall and Snape collapsed.

"They won't remember anything other than the fact Hermione has a magical sword." Harry explained after Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"Very well. I see that keeping your skills a secret is very important to you. Shall we retreat to my office?" Once Harry and Dumbledore walked away, Hermione turned to Neville.

"I've been meaning to ask, what's this Ancient Code you mentioned before?"

"Oh, that. Well, centuries ago, when magical families often feuded, the code was made to keep the whole thing civilized, or as civilized something like that could be. To sum it up, since I killed the Lestrange brothers, I have the right to claim their wives." Neville explained.

"Oh, is that… WHAT?" Hermione's scream echoed throughout the hallways.

"I guess he told her about the code." Harry smirked. Dumbledore said nothing, but his eyes betrayed his mirth.

AN: I bet you didn't expect that pairing. Kinda makes you wonder what Neville really meant when he replied Bellatrix in the Hall of Prophecies, huh?


	15. Chapter 15

Here is the next chapter. I am not a fan of HBP or DH and it might show over the course of the story.

**Chapter 15**

"Do you still have the prophecy, Harry?" Dumbledore asked once they were alone in his office.

In response, Harry doubled over and with a violent retching sound puked the glass sphere out.

"Here you go." Harry handed him the sphere and sat down. For an hour, Harry explained what he and his friends could do, but did not reveal where they had learned those things.

"I suppose you have questions for me as well?" Dumbledore turned to the boy after he was finished.

"Yes." Harry unrolled a scroll on the table and released the locket that was sealed into it.

"You can tell me what this object is supposed to be." Harry pushed the locket towards him.

"Where did you get this?" Dumbledore paled when he realized just what the locket was.

"We found it in HQ. How it got there, I cannot say. I know what it does, but not what it is. We also found two others." At this, Dumbledore looked up in shock.

"This object is called a Horcrux. As you might be aware, it contains a piece of Voldemort's soul, keeping him anchored to this world. You said you found two more?" Dumbledore replied.

"Yes. In the Chamber of Secrets three years ago. A magical diary of his that was controlling Ginny Weasley which I destroyed, and this." Harry tapped his scar. "Which we also managed to eliminate, although it was quite painful to endure."

"You can destroy this as well?" Dumbledore pushed the locket back to him.

"Easily. That any other such objects he may have. Do you have any idea how many there are or their whereabouts?" Harry asked.

"Merely hunches and suspicions at the moment, I'm afraid, but I feel I'm getting close to one or two. I will keep you informed about any that I might find." Dumbledore replied.

"I have one request about that, sir. If you find one, take one of us with you to keep an eye on you. Any of us three will be more than adequate, although I recommend Neville. I daresay he'll need a break during this summer." Harry grinned.

* * *

The summer passed quickly with little excitement for Harry. True, ever since Voldemort was exposed in the Ministry, he's been causing havoc all across the country, but there was little Harry could do to stop him.

He spent his days relaxing with his familiar until it was time to return to Hogwarts again.

"So, have you seen Neville yet?" Harry asked Hermione as they met on the station platform.

Several screams of terror echoed from the other side of the platform, making Harry grin.

"I guess he just arrived." True enough, Neville approached them, followed by Bellatrix. Looking at her, you could hardly recognize the haughty witch they had met at the Ministry. This Bellatrix looked so meek it was unnerving.

"Hello Harry." Luna arrived at that moment, hugging Harry tightly.

"Hi, love. I missed you." Harry hugged her back and gave her a light peck on the lips.

They quickly got into a compartment and made themselves comfortable. Harry was sitting down with Luna's head in his lap on one side while the other three people were sitting across them.

"So, Neville, what exactly did you do to her?" Harry gave Bellatrix a short look.

"Well, first I had to seal her Dark Mark, of course. Then I just used genjutsu to train her. I think I might have made a few mistakes with them, though, since I completely shattered her willpower. Not what I wanted, but there's nothing I can do about it now." Neville sighed.

"What exactly did you use?" Harry was curious. Neville listed the techniques, and Harry's face shifted to a contemplative look.

"Those would have been adequate for a normal person, Neville, but you forgot that she spent fourteen years in Azkaban. Her mind was in shambles even before you started messing with it." Neville could have smacked himself. He should have known better.

"So, how bad is it?" Hermione gave Bellatrix a slightly concerned look.

"She won't even move unless I tell her to. Is that right?" Neville turned to the woman next to him, who nodded once.

"Anyway, how did your gran react to all this? And did you follow the Code completely?" Harry changed the topic.

"She was ready to kill Bellatrix when she saw her, but she calmed down when I explained. She was proud of me at the end. Said I was finally living up to the family name. As for the other thing, yeah, I went to Gringotts a few weeks ago and claimed all the assets the Lestrange family had. I also found a Horcrux in the vault." Neville grinned.

"That is a surprise. What did you do with it?" Harry smiled at the good news.

"Wrapped it in C-2 and blew it up. Biggest piece is the size of a thimble." Neville grinned.

"How did you do on your O.W.L. exams?" Hermione asked the question she wanted to ask all day.

"Finally cracked, huh? I got Outstanding on everything. You guys?" Harry grinned as Hermione blushed lightly.

"I got the same. Neville?" Hermione turned to face him now.

"Outstanding, except an E in Transfiguration. It's not exactly my strongest subject. My practical work was not up to an O standard." Neville shrugged.

"Don't worry; McGonagall will let you in her class. An E is still pretty good. You're planning on following your father's footsteps?" Harry gave him an assuring smile as the boy nodded.

"You'll help me with my O.W.L. Harry?" Luna gave him a dreamy smile.

"Do you even need to ask, love?" Harry gently stroked her hair.

"Oh, did Dumbledore ask any of you to go with him this summer?" Harry was curious since they hadn't said anything. Normally, Harry liked to spend the summer relaxing, and his friends didn't bother him unless it was important.

"Yeah. We went to this really old shack. Dumbledore took care of the traps and we found this ring. Good thing I was there, since Dumbledore was this close to putting it on. When he tested it, he found the ring had a flesh rotting curse on it." Hermione replied.

"What happened to the ring?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore took the curse off and said he would take care of it." She shrugged.

"Yes?" Neville, who was nearest to the door, turned to a very nervous third year that walked in.

"I'm supposed to give these to Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom." The boy stuttered as he handed them two rolls of parchment and turned to leave.

"Stay right there." Harry stopped the boy. The boy seemed like he wanted to disobey, but the prefect's badge on Harry's robes stopped him.

"Who's professor Slughorn?" Harry frowned as he read the invitation.

"Must be a new teacher." Neville shrugged.

"Please tell professor Slughorn that we respectfully decline his invitation." Harry told the slightly shivering boy who hastened to obey.

"You think he was a bit nervous?" Harry turned to his friends.

"The Prophet has been writing about what happened in the Ministry all summer." Hermione shrugged.

* * *

"Malfoy is obviously not happy to see us." Hermione looked at the Slytherin table, where several of them were glaring at them.

"Well, considering I killed his father and Neville claimed his aunt, I'd say he's got a reason to be miffed." Harry shrugged, ignoring the wide-eyed looks at his casual statement.

"Good thing we don't have to escort the new students. I could use some sleep." Harry yawned a bit as they walked up towards the Gryffindor tower.

"See you guys tomorrow. Professor McGonagall arranged a private room for Bellatrix and me, seeing as she's so dependant of me." Neville explained.

"You're sure she's harmless?" Harry stopped before they separated.

"Yes. But I've also placed a couple of seals just in case. Hermione helped me figure out how to link them with intent, so I should be fine." Neville smiled.

"I guess I'm just being paranoid." Harry laughed a bit as he and Hermione walked away.

* * *

Classes soon started, and even the trio was pressed hard to manage everything the teachers threw at them.

Meanwhile, the students gave them a wide berth, and the younger students would even get out of their way in the corridors.

"It's not the same without the twins." Hermione commented as they were working on a new Rogues prank.

"I know. Those two had some pretty good ideas. And considering their business is booming I'm really happy I gave them the money I won for the Triwizard tournament. After all, I get a third of the profit. Plus, they hired Moony as a consultant, so he gets a piece of the pie as well." Harry grinned at that.

"Back to the prank, people. People need to cheer up more than ever." Neville brought the group back to the task at hand.

"I have a suggestion." Luna grinned dreamily and began to explain her idea. At the end of her explanation, they all shared her grin.

* * *

A sudden flash interrupted the lunch the next day, and when it cleared, the students found themselves dressed like sea creatures.

The staff were also dressed as sea creatures, except Dumbledore and Slughorn.

Dumbledore was dressed like a large Griffin, while Slughorn was dressed like a turtle.

Then, music began, and the students found themselves dancing out the Lobster Quadrille from Alice in Wonderland.

The dance lasted for about fifteen minutes, when there was another flash of light and everything returned to normal except for the usual floating message from the Rogues.

"I'll have to thank Luna for the idea." Harry grinned.

* * *

"You know, you've been getting a lot of letters lately. Are you going to tell us who he is?" Harry turned to Hermione after she once again received a letter during breakfast. Considering the fact that she was getting at least two letters a week for several months now, Harry was curious to know who was so eager to write to the girl.

"It's none of your concern. There are some things I prefer to keep private, if you don't mind." She huffed and pocketed the letter.

"Fine." Harry dropped the subject.

"Did you get it?" Neville grinned as he and Harry retreated to Neville's room.

"No sweat. She didn't even feel it. We better hurry, she looked like she wanted to read it, and she'll figure out I took it when she sees the blank parchment I replaced the letter with." Harry opened the letter and scanned it quickly, his eyes growing wide with every word read.

"Well, what does it say?" Neville asked, seeing his reaction.

"See for yourself." Harry handed him the letter absently, and Neville got the same wide eyed look he had now.

"How did we miss this?" Neville asked in a shocked voice.

"Don't ask me. I'm still trying to get my mind around the idea." Harry shook his head.

It was at that moment that the door was blown off its hinges and across the room, narrowly missing Harry's head.

"You two are in so much trouble." Hermione roared, clutching a crumpled ball of parchment in her hand.

"Run." Harry said and bolted for the window with Neville right behind him. They rushed down the wall and across the grounds to the surface of the lake in the blink of an eye.

"Do you think we lost her?" Neville asked as they stopped somewhere in the middle.

"Suiton: Water Prison." A large sphere of water rose up suddenly and enveloped them before they could escape.

Hermione rose from the water holding a hand inside the ball with a livid expression.

"Hermione, I admit what I did was wrong, but we were merely looking out for you. You're like a sister to us. We don't want you to get hurt." Harry pleaded with her.

"You still had no right to read a personal letter like that." Hermione snapped, but her look softened a bit.

"I know and I'll make it up to you. How about a taijutsu spar? I'll even use my legs only." Harry grinned.

"You're on." The sphere dropped and Hermione took a combat stance.

"Right now?" Harry was a bit nervous. Fortunately, they were quite far from shore, so no one would be able to see them.

"Yes, right now while I'm still angry with you." Hermione growled and rushed Harry, fists clenched tightly.

* * *

"I still can't believe you managed to block or dodge all my strikes." Hermione grumbled as they walked back to the school.

"You were angry. If you were fighting me with a clear head, I would have lost, even if I was using my arms. In case you haven't noticed, swinging that battering ram you call a sword around has bade you really strong." Harry shrugged.

"So, how did you end up with… you know?" Neville asked nervously.

"Slowly, over time. I'm not really a love at first sight person. You won't give me a hard time about this, will you?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Hermione, we may tease you from time to time, but have we ever hurt your feelings?" Harry asked seriously.

"Not really. You really are the best friends a girl could have. Although I still don't know how I'll break the news to my parents." She hung her head low.

"Well, look at it this way. At least you're not a lesbian." Harry threw his arm around her.

"Blunt as always." Hermione grumbled.

"As long as you're happy, we don't mind, even if you are dating the twins." Neville grinned.

"What do you think they'll need? A nursery or a water tank?" Harry grinned as Neville burst into laughter.

"Again with the fish jokes. What about you, Harry? Will you teach your children to walk or slither first?" Hermione smirked.

"That was a good one. Almost as good as Neville calling Malfoy nephew the other day." Harry broke into laughter at the memory.

"That was funny. I thought he was going to attack Neville right in front of everyone." Hermione laughed.

"Speaking of Malfoy, I think he's planning something. He's been acting really strange this year." Neville commented once their laughter passed.

"You have a point. Leave him be. He can do minimal damage at best. Who knows, with any luck he might bring in more Death Eaters for us to play with." Harry grinned evilly.

* * *

"Ah, Harry, good to see you. As I told you last year, when I had concrete information, I would contact you at once." Dumbledore gestured for Harry to sit down.

"You know how many Horcruxes he made and where they are?" Harry asked eagerly.

"I know how many there are, yes, but what and where they are, not exactly. Not counting the one in your scar, his soul is split into seven pieces, one of which resides in his body. Our combined efforts have destroyed four of the six Horcruxes, so only two remain now. I believe one of them to be Voldemort's familiar, and the other is most likely an artifact of Ravenclaw, since the location of Gryffindor's sword still remains a mystery." Dumbledore replied.

"So, we must find this artifact first then hunt down Voldemort's familiar before we kill him. Do you have any ideas about the location?" Harry asked.

"Several, but there is a more pressing concern. How good are you at impersonating people? You mentioned you had the skill to change your appearance." Dumbledore asked.

"I have two methods, actually. The Henge technique creates a solid illusion over one's body, but it is not very durable. A solid hit from a hand or a spell would dispel it. And the other is the Face Stealing technique that only I can perform. That one is far more reliable." Harry replied.

"What do you need to be able to successfully impersonate someone using this technique?" Dumbledore asked.

"If I am to pretend to be someone else, I must be able to act as said person. And of course, peel his face off to use for the technique." Dumbledore paled a bit at that, and several portraits gasped in shock.

"I see. In that case, I'll get right to the point. I am dying Harry. I have been sick for years now, and I am merely living out the last few months of my life. I would not ask this of you, but I fear my death will cause a great deal of trouble for the magical world." Dumbledore sighed.

"You want me to replace you?" Harry was surprised, at both the news and the request.

"Yes. I have no doubt you are capable. You don't need to worry about killing me. I have already made arrangements for that." Dumbledore smiled.

"I'd prefer it if it was me. I need to remove the face before rigor mortis kicks in, and because of that, the killing curse is out of the question." Harry explained.

"I will abide by your instructions, then. We shall complete your disguise after the year ends. Until then, please have those clones of yours around me to learn how to act like me. I daresay you'll have no trouble after several months of observation." Dumbledore smiled softly.

"Headmaster, I am only doing this because I respect you and understand your reasons. To be honest, I am not comfortable with your plan, but I will do what must be done." Harry replied with a stony gaze.

"I would never ask this of you if it wasn't absolutely necessary, Harry. I also would like to ask you to keep this arrangement strictly between the two of us. I don't doubt your friends are trustworthy, but the less people know about it, the better." Dumbledore said.

"I will keep it a secret. Two more things, sir. Will anyone else know of this plan and what about your phoenix? He is not bonded to me." Harry looked at the magnificent bird that let out a sad note.

"My brother Aberforth will know about this. I would not dream of hiding it from him, since he knows me too well to be fooled by even the best of disguises. As for Fawkes, he has agreed to stay by your side for as long as my appearance is necessary. Once Voldemort falls, I daresay the need for this ruse will be no more." Dumbledore replied.

"With your permission, sir?" Harry stood up and formed several shadow clones before he turned to the door. A slight nod of Dumbledore's head was all he needed.

"Now, where do I start about myself…?" Dumbledore grinned as he faced the clones.

AN: First off, for those that will speak against Hermione's pairing, I agree that canon Hermione would never end up with either of the twins, let alone both. But in my story Hermione is a lot more outgoing, not to mention agressive. Furthermore, you can't deny that while the twins are smart. Don't worry, I will flesh out the idea, as well as provide the much demanded explanation to what happened to the Philosopher's Stone and Quirell. To be honest, the most difficult part of the whole story were the prank ideas, but I am happy that you liked them. Well, enough ranting for one day. Look forward to the next installment in this little adventure.


	16. Chapter 16

I've had some trouble finishing this, but I finally got a version I could publish. Anyway, the story will be completed within the next couple of chapters or so, so look forward to the big fight coming up soon.

**Chapter 16**

Before they even realized it, the year was coming to an end, and the trio was getting restless.

"It bothers me that we're stuck here while Voldemort is out there killing people." Hermione complained.

"There's not much we can do to stop him. He hides really well when he wants to." Harry sighed.

Over the year, the Prophet was filled with reports of attacks by Voldemort's followers, and the trio was very agitated that they did nothing to prevent those deaths.

* * *

"I'll be going with Dumbledore to investigate a possible location tonight. You'll keep an eye out for any trouble?" Harry informed his friends.

"Do you even need to ask?" Neville grinned.

Harry and Dumbledore walked to Hogsmeade before Apparating somewhere on the coast.

We need to go in there. You don't mind getting a little wet, do you?" Dumbledore pointed to a cave.

Harry merely smirked and jumped off the large rock they were standing on, landing on the water as if it was dirt.

"Climb on. It will be faster this way." It was a bit awkward carrying Dumbledore on his back as the older man was taller, but Harry managed it.

They reached a dark and dank cave and Dumbledore quickly lit his wand.

The two began searching the cave, both employing the methods they knew best.

"Right here." Harry pointed to a section of the wall.

"Indeed it is. If I'm not mistaken, the gate requires blood to open." Dumbledore mused and quickly drew a dagger and splattered the wall with a burst of blood. Slowly, the door appeared and the pair walked to the edge of a vast underground lake. A faint green glow was coming from the middle.

"You think it is there?" Harry pointed to the green glow in the distance.

"Most likely." Dumbledore replied absently as he continued his search across the shore until he found an invisible chain that dragged up a dingy old boat.

"You take it. I'll follow along." Harry replied. Using a little extra chakra, he walked by the boat not disturbing the surface of the water.

The source of the green glow was a basin filled with green fluid sitting on a small rocky island in the middle of the vast underground lake.

"This is a most curious liquid. It resists all my attempts to remove it in any way but one. I believe it is meant to be drunk." Dumbledore commented as he conjured a goblet.

"I'd rather you didn't drink it, sir." Harry bit his right thumb and rolled up his left sleeve. On his left wrist the summoning tattoo was visible, a seal in the form of a snake wrapped around his wrist.

He ran his bloody thumb through the empty part in the middle of the tattoo and slammed his hand on the ground. In a puff of smoke, six snakes appeared.

"They would serve better. Their bodies are made of my energy, and the spirit that animates them cannot be harmed." Harry explained.

"Drink this potion dry." Harry pointed at the basin, and the snakes slithered up and dunked their heads into the glowing fluid, rapidly decreasing its level even as they began to writhe around in obvious pain.

Soon enough, a locket was seen, and Dumbledore scooped it up while Harry dispelled the snakes.

"This is not a Horcrux." Dumbledore frowned as he opened it and read the note within.

"At least now we know how the locket got at HQ. Sirius will be happy to learn about this." Harry commented as he too read the note.

"Let's head back." Dumbledore sighed. On the way back to the boat, the old man stumbled lightly.

"Are you alright, sir?" Harry rushed to help him up.

"My time grows short, Harry. We will have to implement our plan within the next few days." Dumbledore sighed again.

"I see. We should hurry back, then." They reached the outer cave without trouble, and Apparated back to Hogsmeade.

* * *

It was here that they caught sight of trouble. High above the castle was the floating image of the Dark Mark.

They got a pair of brooms from the Three Broomsticks, since Madam Rosmerta was the one that rushed out to them and alerted them about the Dark Mark.

"Took you long enough." The sight that greeted them was not what they expected when they reached the Astronomy Tower. Neville was casually leaning on a wall, while a group of Death Eaters along with Draco Malfoy were sitting before him. Each had a large white spider on their chest.

"Where's Hermione?" Harry asked curiously.

"Making a sweep of the castle, but I'm pretty sure we got them all." Neville shrugged.

"Did you kill any of them?" Harry grinned as a couple of the Death Eaters paled a bit.

"This big blond brute had the gall to insult my art. The others were very cooperative afterwards." Neville pointed to the pile of wands next to him.

"You should have known better than to come to Hogwarts while we were here. Do you wish to deal with them or should I?" Harry turned to Dumbledore.

"I shall leave things in your capable hands, Harry." Dumbledore said shortly and walked away.

"Well, what do we do?" Neville turned to Harry expectantly.

"What indeed. We are going to let them go." Harry grinned widely.

Several gasps of surprise were heard from both Neville and the prisoners.

"This is an opportunity to further reduce Voldemort's followers. We won't get such a chance again." Neville snapped.

"I thought of that." Harry snapped back as he gave Neville a subtle reply with the secret hand code they had learned. 'The mission was a failure. Target still present.'

Neville gave a subtle nod of acknowledgment as he backed down from the argument. He understood that now was not the time to push Voldemort into attacking en masse.

"Of course, I cannot allow you to walk away with attacking Hogwarts." Before any of them could react, Harry had grabbed Fenrir Greyback and tossed him over the wall of the Tower.

"Neville." Harry turned to his friends who formed a single hand sign. A loud bang was heard, followed by a muffled thump.

"You will find your wands by the gate. Neville, escort them outside. Draco, stay back." Harry waited until everyone was gone to turn back to the shivering blond.

"Are you going to kill me?" Draco asked nervously.

"It is within my power to do so. But no, I won't kill you. I am not a murderer, Draco." Harry smiled sadly.

"Could have fooled me." Draco scoffed.

"Greyback was an animal. Putting down a rabid dog is hardly a crime." Harry shrugged.

"That's not what I'm talking about." Draco shouted.

"Ah, yes. Your father. That was a battle, Draco, and in battle, people die. It was either him or me, and personally, I'm happy with the outcome. But, if it's any consolation, he fought well. Probably the only Death Eater I have respected." Harry replied with his usual calm tone.

"I am still going to kill you." Draco hissed.

"You are not a threat." Draco's eyes widened when he felt the cold steel touch the back of his neck. It was unreal. One moment, Harry was over six feet before him, then, before he could even blink, he was behind him.

"Voldemort will fall soon enough. Stay out of my way and you get to live." With that, Harry walked away.

* * *

"That must have been a very difficult decision, Harry." Dumbledore remarked when Harry joined him in his office.

"It went against my better judgment, but at the moment, it's not wise to provoke Voldemort. The fact that I had his men in my mercy will anger him a great deal even if they did survive. After all, they failed in their mission." Harry grinned.

"They may have failed, but it will be you who will complete it for them." Dumbledore sighed.

"Then, it is time?" Harry gulped nervously.

"Yes. It is best we do this tonight." Dumbledore nodded.

"Then please lay down, sir." Dumbledore did so, and Harry formed a couple of hand signs and touched Dumbledore's chest, using a medical technique to stop his heart.

Harry ran a diagnostic technique, confirming the man's death. His hand was covered in blue as he moved it around Dumbledore's face, slowly separating it from the rest of his body.

When he was done, he covered the man's face with a black cloth and stored the face into the special seal made for it on his right hand.

"You will take him to Aberforth?" Harry wrote a quick note, using the opportunity to practice Dumbledore's handwriting before he turned to Fawkes.

The phoenix released a sad note as it landed on the body and vanished in a burst of flame.

Harry placed his right hand on his face and formed a hand sign with his left. In a burst of smoke, in his place was Dumbledore. A quick wave of his wand turned his robes to what Dumbledore was wearing.

"You will follow the plan?" He turned to the many portraits around him.

"Dumbledore instructed us to follow you as we would him. Fear not, young master." One of the portraits replied.

"Ah, my first test approaches." Harry's voice took on Dumbledore's aged tone as the Minister of Magic walked in, followed by McGonagall.

The entrance was sealed while Harry was busy with Dumbledore's body, and had only released it right now.

"I was told there was a Death Eater attack on Hogwarts. Yet, when I arrived here we found no disturbance whatsoever. If it wasn't for the Dark Mark and the body of Greyback under the Astronomy Tower, I would have called the whole thing a hoax." Rufus Scrimgeour, the new Minister who had replaced Fudge stood before Dumbledore, glaring lightly.

"There were indeed Death Eaters present, but they managed to escape, I'm afraid. Fenrir had the misfortune to run before a stray blasting curse. I daresay he won't be missed." Harry gave him a soft smile.

"And this attack does not concern you?" The Minister was shocked at the man's calmness.

"Not in the slightest. After all, they failed to complete their task, and did not harm anyone. Thanks to them, we have also located a vulnerability in the castle's protections, one which I intend to repair as soon as possible." Harry was clearly enjoying himself seeing the man change colors.

"I don't like being out of the loop, Dumbledore." The Minister growled.

"It is not you I don't trust, Rufus, but those around you. Sometimes, it is best to play things close to the vest." The Minister was surprised. That was the most forthcoming answer he got from the man in months.

"Then you know something about him? Something that might help us?" The Minister whispered.

"My goal has always been the defeat of Voldemort, and everything I do is to accomplish said goal." Harry returned to being cryptic.

* * *

As the year ended, everyone was surprised when both Harry and Dumbledore vanished without a trace.

"What the hell is Harry doing?" Neville growled when they learned of his disappearance.

"It must be something really important to leave us out of it. I just wish we could find the damn Horcrux and…" Hermione's words were stopped by a sharp pain in her head as a large tiara fell on top of her.

"It was here all along?" Neville exclaimed in shock.

"So, how do we tell Harry about this?" Hermione asked after Neville blew the thing to bits.

"We don't, at least not until he gets back from wherever he went. Until then, we can only get back home and hope for the best." Neville sighed.

* * *

"If you don't mind me asking, Madam Umbridge, why do you need so many men to bring in one teenage girl?" One of the Aurors turned to the toad-like woman.

"The little mudblood is very dangerous. It's best we come prepared." Umbridge grinned at the thought of vengeance.

The Grangers were having a midnight snack when over a dozen wizards appeared around them and held them at wand point.

"Try to scream and you'll regret it, Muggle. Where's your daughter?" One of the Aurors asked with a sneer.

"Upstairs. Second door on the left." Mr. Granger replied shortly.

"That was smart." The Auror grinned.

"It doesn't matter if I resist. She'll kill you all anyway." Mr. Granger grinned savagely. He knew what his little girl could do.

"I don't see what Umbridge is so afraid of." The three Aurors stood next to Hermione's bed, looking down at the sleeping girl.

She was wearing only a bra and panties that had little blue fish pattern, and as she was sleeping, there was a small line of drool going down her cheek.

"She's not so bad looking, for a Mudblood." One of them commented before he conjured a stream of water from his wand.

Hermione spluttered and sat up in her bed, tucking her legs to her chest and keeping her head low.

"You are hereby under arrest under the new Muggleborn Registration Charter. You will be brought in to the Ministry for questioning." One of the Aurors said with a pompous tone.

"You woke me up for that?" Hermione's tone had gained a frosty tone. Before the Aurors could react, a second Hermione appeared behind one of them and gave him a chop to the neck making him collapse.

The other two were less fortunate as they got two excellently executed right hooks that sent them out of the room and into the corridor.

'Not very subtle, are they? I detected them before they even reached the stairs.' She scoffed at the arrogance of the Aurors.

"What the hell was that?" Another two Aurors rushed to the stairs to investigate the noise.

They froze for a moment, since Hermione was standing on the top landing, hands held in a strange shape and her chest expanded beyond what they could believe was possible. She opened her mouth, and an entire river fell down upon the two men and flooded the entire lower floor.

Hermione walked down calmly, wearing a T-shirt over her bra and her sword hefted on her shoulder.

"Don't try anything smart, girl." Umbridge pointed her wand at Hermione's mother.

"It's not me you should be watching." Hermione grinned as a second Hermione appeared from behind them and managed to get her parents away.

"She raised an Anti-Apparition ward." One of the Aurors alerted his colleagues.

"Water Clones." Hermione formed a hand sign and the water around her feet gathered into two dozen identical Hermiones, complete with sword.

"You know what to do." Hermione ordered her clones and took her parents upstairs.

"You'll kill them all?" Her mother asked with a frown.

"No, just the ugly bitch that leads them. The rest will have their memories modified. But either way, we can't stay here. Get the essentials and hurry, they might get some backup." The Grangers were packed in record time and gone with a Portkey.

Meanwhile, a second portkey delivered the arresting team to the Ministry lobby, dazed and soaking wet. Between them was the body of Dolores Umbridge, folded in half and her face torn to the bone.

AN: I know the way they found the tiara was a bit lame, but I needed it gone for the final fight. Those who follow Naruto may guess what I have in store. First reviewer who guesses it gets to have his name mentioned in the final battle.


	17. Chapter 17

This is the final chapter of the story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Like I said, the first reviewer to guess the technique Harry will use will be featured in this chapter, so darthdrew1704 I hope you enjoy it.

**Chapter 17**

"So, you finally decided to show your face, huh?" Hermione hugged Harry as he arrived at Longbottom manor where she and her parents were hiding ever since the arrest attempt.

"I hurried back the moment I heard about the fall of the Ministry. It seems Dumbledore's absence made Voldemort confident enough his attack would work." Harry sighed.

"You better be careful saying his name outside of here. He placed a taboo on it. We're safe here with the amount of explosives and traps we've placed all over the grounds, but outside of here, they can track us by it." Hermione replied.

"I see. That does complicate things a bit. And to make things even more frustrating, I still don't know where the damn Horcrux is." Harry sighed as he collapsed in a chair.

Ever since the Ministry fell, he had spent most of his time as Dumbledore, getting Muggleborn students safely to Hogwarts and improving the defenses of the castle. It was tiring, and Harry often wondered how the old man managed to do everything he did considering his age and health.

"About that, we found it in the RoR." Hermione grinned lightly.

"Of all the damn places…" Harry let out a long string of curses.

"Are we going back to Hogwarts this year?" Hermione asked when Neville arrived.

"Yes. With both Dumbledore and me there, he'll attack the castle sooner or later." Harry replied.

"What's the plan for the attack?" Neville asked.

"We take out Nagini first. Then, you two handle his forces while I take care of Voldemort." Harry replied.

* * *

"…and finally, I wish to remind you that there will be no tolerance for those acting against the Muggleborn students. In the interest of convincing those that do not care about detention or House points, any action against Muggleborn for reason of their heritage will earn you twenty lashes from Mr. Filch, who I daresay is most eager to perform this duty." Harry gave the students before him a sharp gaze as he stood before them as Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore sure seems serious about this. Still I wouldn't mind seeing Draco getting whipped." Neville shrugged.

"So, you didn't notice it?" Hermione asked.

"Notice what?" Neville was confused at the question.

"Seriously, you should train your chakra senses more often. I sensed something from Dumbledore during his speech. He was suppressing chakra." Hermione shocked him.

"But Dumbledore can't use chakra. And it was him, I could tell." Neville protested.

"Well, who do we know who does have chakra and can disguise himself so well?" Hermione turned towards him now.

"You mean…? But why would he…?" Neville was shocked. He knew what Harry needed to complete that particular technique.

"Probably something they cooked up." Hermione replied.

* * *

"By Ministry order, we demand you release all muggleborn in the castle to our custody." A group of Aurors were standing on the Hogwarts grounds, facing Dumbledore.

"I will not allow you to harm any of my students while I still draw breath." Harry snapped.

"You can't beat us all, Dumbledore." One Auror growled.

"We shall see." Harry smirked as a dozen stunners flew at him. A wide silver shield appeared before him and blocked the spells.

"Damn, the old goat can move." One Auror growled as Dumbledore weaved out of the paths of their spells with incredible grace for a man of his age.

Just then, two Aurors fell down, tripped by hands coming out of the ground. As they fell, more hands grabbed them and held them down.

"Shit." The commander moved to free them, only for a flaming whip to stop him inches from his face.

Dumbledore weaved around, waving the whip around, herding the Aurors closer together.

"Allow me to introduce you to my guardians." Harry grinned as he waved his wand in a complicated pattern. The earth around the Aurors rose up in large mounds and formed four ten foot tall figures.

Surrounded by the golems and facing Dumbledore's wand, the Aurors had no choice but to surrender.

"This is not over, Dumbledore. We will return." The Auror leader snapped.

* * *

"You know Voldemort will come here eventually?" Hermione faced Harry as they finished their training session.

"I know. Our priority is to kill his snake when he does. I have something special planned for him." Harry grinned.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Harry. What if they get inside the castle? Or if the Slytherin students decide to help them?" Neville asked.

"Hermione will remain close to the castle here. This way, she can stop anyone getting to the gates, and the lake is close enough so she can use her techniques effectively." Harry pointed to the large map of the castle grounds they had on the table before them.

"You will use your C-3 mines on this part of the grounds and then attack from above. I will keep watch over this part. I believe this is where Voldemort will come from." Harry continued.

"You're not going to involve the teachers or the Order?" Hermione asked.

"If we follow the plan, we won't need them. I have already left instructions to them to keep guard inside the castle. This way, the Slytherins won't cause any trouble." Harry replied.

"I still can't get over the fact Dumbledore is dead. And to think he wanted you to replace him." Hermione whispered.

"I wasn't thrilled with the idea either, Hermione, but it had to be done." Harry sighed.

* * *

Voldemort did not concern himself with Hogwarts until the school year was almost over. He decided to finally rid himself of the thorn that was Dumbledore, kill his nemesis Harry Potter, and also, kill off the largest group of mudbloods in Britain. It would be a glorious victory for the man, and he gathered all of his forces together.

Over two hundred wizards, several giants and over fifty vampires stood eager for the slaughter.

"Here they come." Neville reported in his mirror as he took off on his C-3 dragon. The large amount of mines were already spread around the grounds.

"I'm in position." Hermione replied. She did not expect to see too much action, but, she might get lucky.

"Target the snake if you see it." Harry commanded as he gripped his sword tighter. This was it. They had reached the big fork in the road of destiny.

Andrew was leading his group of Death Eaters towards the castle when his foot stepped on a soft patch of soil.

"What the…" His words were cut off by the large explosion coming from beneath him.

"It begins." Harry grinned as he heard the sound of the blast.

Twenty vampires rushed from the tree line and charged Harry, eager to spill blood.

Harry moved swiftly, decapitating two of them with a single swing of the Kusanagi, and pressing into the rest with zeal.

In ten minutes, the vampires were no more, but this time, a more challenging fight approached.

Voldemort himself marched towards him, escorted by fifty of his men and a towering giant.

And just there behind the serpentine man slithered Nagini. Harry grinned widely as he readied a kunai. Acheron would be pleased to know his venom aided his victory.

Voldemort stopped as he heard the pain filled hissing behind him and saw his familiar writhing in agony from the knife in her side.

A minute later, she was dead.

* * *

"You'll pay for that, Potter." Voldemort growled.

"Let's end this, Voldemort. Today it ends one way or another." Harry stepped closer.

"Today is the day I kill you, Potter." Voldemort sneered.

"You have too many men for me to tie myself fighting with you. Fortunately, I have a solution, and I daresay, I cannot think of a more fitting end for you." Harry grinned as he began forming hand signs.

"Summoning: Edo Tensei." Harry finished and two dark rifts formed before him. Voldemort paused at the sight of the strange magic, and watched curiously as two coffins rose up.

His crimson eyes widened as the lids fell down, and he saw the bodies of James and Lily Potter, just as they looked the night he killed them.

The Death Eaters gasped and took a step back as the two dead people stepped out of their coffins and looked curiously around them.

"Where are we?" James frowned as he looked at himself and his wife. They looked pale and covered in dust.

"Hogwarts, dad. I need your help to fight Voldemort." The pair turned in shock as Harry approached them.

"Harry? You've grown so much." His mother smiled.

"I need to complete the spell." Harry took out two kunai with red seal tags and slipped them inside their heads, making everyone's widen even further.

In seconds, color began to return to the pair and in moments, they looked completely normal.

"I am eager for a rematch." James gripped his wand as he stared at Voldemort.

"You'll pay for trying to harm our son, you bastard." Lily grinned evilly.

"Go get him." Harry whispered sadly. It pained him to do this to his parents, but he could not occupy himself with Voldemort when his forces could slip past them and attack the castle.

"Today is the day you all die." Harry shouted and rushed the group of wizards, sword held in his hand and eyes blazing with bloodlust.

* * *

"Hermione, I took out one of the giants, but the damn thing landed right on my minefield and made a path right through it. I don't think I can stop them all from getting through." Neville reported as he was forced to abandon his dragon thanks to the over dozen hits it took from spells from the ground.

"Understood. I'll be on my guard." Hermione replied back.

"You are no match for me. I've beaten you before and I can do it again." Voldemort didn't know how the boy brought his parents back, but it didn't matter. They would fall.

"Even if we fall, so shall you." Lily grinned as she sent a slashing curse at the man.

"You are nothing before me." Voldemort managed to hit her with the killing curse. He was surprised when the curse blasted her arm off instead of the curse's usual effect.

"Lily." James yelled in shock, but to the surprise of them both, there was no blood coming from the wound. Instead, the now severed arm burst apart and gathered back where it belonged. Ten seconds later, it was as if Lily wasn't harmed at all.

"This is interesting." Lily pressed her attack even more eagerly now that she knew she could not be killed.

"Potter." Narcissa Malfoy sneered at the brat that made her a widow.

"Let's see if you're as good as your husband." Harry grinned as he rushed the blond woman.

"Avada Kedavra." Narcissa managed to cast at almost point blank range, hitting Harry right in the chest.

Her moment of triumph was cut short as the body fell down and burst into smoke, revealing a large log with a bad burn on it.

"You're better than your husband was." Narcissa gasped as she felt the blade on her neck.

* * *

"Suiton: Giant Vortex." Hermione moved through hand signs quickly as she faced over two dozen wizards. The water in the lake rose up in a massive wave that crashed over them, splitting their ranks and scattering them all over the grounds.

"Water Clones." Hermione formed a dozen clones and rushed out to hunt down the survivors.

Meanwhile, Neville was stuck with the rest of the vampires, who had changed into bats and were pursuing him through the air.

"You won't get me that easily." Neville growled as he sent out two more of his birds against the bats.

With a large explosion, a few more bats were vaporized in the inferno of the blast, but many more still remained.

'This won't be easy.' Neville sighed as he felt his hands scrape the bottom of his pouches.

* * *

"Doton: Swamp of the Underworld." Harry was facing the remaining giant, and was forced to use the only technique that wouldn't cause massive collateral damage to the area. However, to sink something so big required a lot of chakra, and he didn't have too much to spare if he wanted to maintain the Edo Tensei.

The wizards wizened up that letting him get close was suicide, so they had dug in and took potshots at him whenever they had the opportunity.

"Things are getting difficult." Harry hid behind a small hill and began preparing kunai with explosive tags.

"Time to flush out the rats." He grinned and rushed out, sending explosive kunai at the two closest groups of Death Eaters. The explosions flushed them out, allowing him to finish them off with normal kunai.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin." He threw three shuriken at the next group, his technique making them turn into fifty shuriken.

The shuriken forced them to duck, losing him from sight.

"Doton: Headhunter." One of the Death Eaters gasped in shock as he was pulled down into the ground.

As the other two turned, Harry burst out of the ground and embedded a pair of kunai into their throats before he killed the one he had buried to his neck in the dirt.

He now had only one last group to take care of.

"Doton: Earth Fissure." He slammed his hand on the ground, forcing the earth to split along a line and swallowing the last group. When he raised his hand, the ground closed up again, crushing the Death Eaters trapped beneath.

* * *

Neville stood on the ground, out of clay, panting hard as he faced a dozen vampires.

"You will pay for slaying our kin." The leader of the bunch growled.

"I don't think so. Katon: Dragon Missile." Neville smirked and released a massive burst of fire that engulfed the vampires before they could flee.

"All clear on my end. I'm out of the fight, though." The panting boy collapsed against a tree.

"We'll take care of the rest, Neville. Stay safe." Hermione grinned as she pressed on, cutting through her enemies with savage ferocity.

* * *

Voldemort barely managed to dodge the sword swipe from behind, only to land into the path of a bone-breaking curse that hit his right arm.

"Potter. I see my worthless followers didn't keep you busy for long." Voldemort growled.

He could already feel his body getting tired, and to make things worse, he was now losing blood. He could see that he had no chance of victory, but, he was not afraid. His Horcruxes would keep him alive, even if he fell this day, he would return and destroy Potter and his friends.

"Oh, I forgot to mention. Nagini was your last Horcrux. You're mortal." This revelation shocked Voldemort to his core.

"You lie." Voldemort growled.

"Your diary, your grandfather's ring, Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff's Cup, Ravenclaw's diadem and Nagini. Oh, there was also a small fragment in my scar, but I got rid of that as well. Like I said, you're mortal now, and you won't be coming back this time." Harry grinned as Voldemort froze for a moment, allowing his father to hit him with a Killing Curse.

"Thanks for your help. It's time for you to go back." Harry smiled sadly at his parents.

"We should be thanking you. You've grown into a fine young man, Harry. We're proud of you." His father hugged him tightly.

"Thanks dad. I'm happy I got to speak with you at least this once." Harry's eyes misted over.

"You'll see us again, son. Just, not too soon, alright?" His mother joined the hug.

"You got it. Until we meet again." Harry stepped back from them and with a single hand sign, released the technique.

His parents collapsed and as the ash and dirt fell off them, it revealed the pair of Death Eaters Harry had captured and used as the sacrifices for the technique.

* * *

"Is it over?" Hermione asked as Harry dragged his tired body back towards the castle.

"Yeah. He's dead. What about you two?" Neville looked like death warmed over, and Hermione was practically drenched in blood.

"We took out all who fought us. There were some who surrendered." Hermione replied.

"We'll hand them over to the Ministry, then. Right now, I need a nice long shower." Harry yawned.

"Maybe a nice hot meal too." Neville agreed.

* * *

Twenty years had passed since that day, and the magical world had enjoyed the peace and prosperity the victory brought them ever since.

Harry married Luna right after she graduated, and had four children, their oldest were twins named James and Lily, a second son named Albus and a daughter named Athena after Luna's mother.

Harry started a shinobi training class in Hogwarts and taught select students the arts ever since. Luna joined him at Hogwarts as the Ancient Runes professor.

Neville married Susan Bones after the pair got close during Auror training and had two children named Frank and Amelia. Rising quickly through the ranks, Neville became Head of the Auror department, while Susan took over her aunt's old position as head of the DMLE.

While legally married to Fred Weasley, Hermione ended up with both of the Weasley twins, and had one child from each of them. Fred's son was named Arthur while George's was named Chris.

While Fred and George worked in their joke shop, which was the most popular joke shop in the country, allowing them to open stores all over the country, Hermione replaced McGonagall as the Transfiguration teacher when she became Headmistress.


End file.
